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Elon Musk's Starlink will comply with the Brazil X ban after all
Update, September 3, 5:15PM ET: Starlink has reversed course on its decision to not comply with Brazil’s block of X. In a statement posted to X, the company said:
“To our customers in Brazil (who may not be able to read this as a result of X being blocked by @alexandre):
The Starlink team is doing everything possible to keep you connected.
Following last week’s order from @alexandre that froze Starlink’s finances and prevents Starlink from conducting financial transactions in Brazil, we immediately initiated legal proceedings in the Brazilian Supreme Court explaining the gross illegality of this order and asking the Court to unfreeze our assets. Regardless of the illegal treatment of Starlink in freezing of our assets, we are complying with the order to block access to X in Brazil.
We continue to pursue all legal avenues, as are others who agree that @alexandre’s recent orders violate the Brazilian constitution.”
The original story, "Starlink is refusing to comply with Brazil's X ban," as published on September 2, continues below unedited.
After the country’s Supreme Court ordered internet service providers to block access to X, the platform was largely unavailable in the country by Sunday night. The only ways to access X since then have been through VPNs (for those willing to risk huge fines) and Starlink, the satellite internet service that’s also run by X owner Elon Musk.
The president of Brazil’s telecom agency, Anatel, said that Starlink refused to comply with the court order until officials released its frozen assets, The New York Times reports. Alexandre de Moraes, the Supreme Court justice who has been on the warpath against X, also blocked the local bank accounts of Starlink, which is a SpaceX subsidiary. Moraes, who has accused X of disseminating hate speech and disinformation, is said to have done so with the aim of collecting $3 million in fines levied against X for ignoring his orders to block certain accounts.
Starlink petitioned the court to unblock its assets but the court dismissed the request. Musk called the Starlink account freeze "illegal," arguing that SpaceX and X are separate entities while claiming he owns 40 percent of the former.
There are around 250,000 Starlink customers in Brazil. The service has proven popular there in rural areas and among Indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Starlink pledged to provide free internet access to its Brazilian customers while its accounts in the country remain blocked.
If Starlink maintains its stance on X, Brazil could revoke the internet service’s license. If it continues to operate after that, officials could seize equipment from 23 ground stations. The gear helps Starlink improve the quality of its satellite connections.
Meanwhile, a majority of a Supreme Court panel upheld the X ban, which Moraes issued after Musk defied several of his orders, at a trial on Monday. X will have the right to appeal the decision. The panel also approved an order by Moraes to fine anyone caught using a VPN to access X in Brazil a daily fine of 50,000 Brazilian Real (around $8,900).
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/elon-musks-starlink-will-comply-with-the-brazil-x-ban-after-all-181144471.html?src=rss
The X TV app is out now and yes, it really sucks
X has entered the streaming wars, sort of. Owner Elon Musk announced that the X TV app — teased earlier this year — is available now for some Amazon Fire TVs, Google TVs and some LG panels.
If your TV doesn’t fit into one of those categories, don’t fret. You’re not missing anything.
The short teaser video included in the beta app announcement shows what appears to be the Google version of the app with a typical looking streaming video interface. There are rows of links to videos for the very small number of original shows on the platform like right-wing dog whistler Tucker Carlson and accounts for SpaceX and Tesla. However, the actual app (or at least the version for Amazon Fire TVs) looks nothing like the video and offers even less in terms of content.
Currently, the X TV app is just a video delivery system for the X app. You’ll need an X account to log in and it just sends you to a curated list of X videos that are already on the platform. However, what appear to be the default recommendations are truly hideous to anyone not of the same political mind as Musk.
Danny Gallagher
I used a burner account that wasn't following many users, and the videos the X TV app offered me on first viewing includes a Megyn Kelly video accusing Tim Walz of committing “stolen valor,” a report from right-wing social media influencer Andy Ngo and Carlson’s fawning interview with historian Darryl Cooper who performs some revisionist history by calling Winston Churchill “the chief villain of the Second World War.”
X TV's video library is reflective of its users; after years of skewing liberal, its most active userbase is now conservative fans ready for whatever red meat X dangles over them. The videos on show may entertain those users, and Musk’s fan club may fawn over finally having a streaming app on smart TVs, but even if you’re in that demo, it’s a disappointingly barebones app compared to rivals like Rumble.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-x-tv-app-is-out-now-and-yes-it-really-sucks-204931559.html?src=rss
The best foldable phones for 2024
Folding smartphones have come a long way since the original Samsung Galaxy Fold came out in 2019. They’re smaller, more durable and, even if they aren’t exactly the most budget-friendly phones, they’re more affordable now, too. Whereas you may not have considered a foldable phone as your daily driver five years ago, they’re much more viable options today — and you have many more to choose from. If you’ve been toying with the idea of switching to a folding phone, or you’re ready to upgrade the foldable you already have, we at Engadget can help with your decision-making process. We've spent hundreds of hours and many days testing and reviewing the best foldable phones on the market right now — here's everything you need to know before picking one up.
Note: For this guide, we’re focusing on devices that are widely available in North America and Europe. That’s because while there are even more options for people who live in Asia (especially China), they are often difficult to buy from abroad and may not support your local carriers.
How we test foldable smartphones
When evaluating foldables, we consider the same general criteria as we do when we’re judging the best smartphones. Devices need to have good battery life (at least a full day’s use), bright displays (peaks of at least 1,000 nits), sharp cameras and responsive performance. That said, foldable phones come in different shapes (and sizes); there are varying designs that may appeal to different types of people.
For those who prefer more compact and stylish devices, flip-style foldables resemble old-school namesakes but with flexible interior displays (typically six to seven inches diagonally) and smaller exterior screens. Alternatively, for power users and people who want to maximize mobile productivity, there are larger book-style foldables (with seven to eight-inch main displays) that can transform from a candy bar-style phone to essentially a small tablet when opened.
Are foldable phones worth it? A note on durability
Aside from their displays, the biggest difference between foldable phones and more traditional handsets is durability. That’s because while some models like the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Samsung’s Galaxy Z line offer IPX8 water resistance (which is good for submersions of up to five feet for 30 minutes), their flexible screens – which are largely made from plastic – present some unique challenges.
Most foldables come with factory-installed screen protectors. However, unlike regular phones, users are instructed not to remove them without assistance from approved service centers. Thankfully, Samsung does offer one free screen protector replacement for its foldables, while Google charges between $29 and $129 depending on the warranty status of your device. That said, while we can’t do long-term testing for every foldable phone on the market, after personally using the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Fold 4 each for a year, I’ve found that Samsung’s pre-installed screen protector tends to start bubbling nine to 12 months after purchase. So you’ll probably want to factor in that your foldable may need some sort of servicing after about a year unless you plan on removing the screen protector entirely (which is possible, but goes against most manufacturers' instructions).
Furthermore, foldable phone owners need to be mindful about keeping sharp objects away from their flexible displays, as rocks, keys or even pressing down very hard with a fingernail can leave permanent marks. In the event that you need to get a flexible screen serviced, you’re potentially facing a much higher repair bill when compared to a typical phone (up to $500 or more depending on the model and the severity of the damage). In short, while the ruggedness of foldable phones has improved a lot, they're still more delicate than traditional handsets, which is something you need to account for.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/best-foldable-phones-160030013.html?src=rss
https://www.engadget.com/best-foldable-phones-160030013.html?src=rss
Concord aside, PlayStation is having a great year
Less than two weeks after it launched, Concord is dead.
Sony announced this morning that the game would be taken offline on September 6, and said it will issue refunds to the few people who chose to buy it. The team-based shooter was one of a scant few new first-party PlayStation games scheduled for release this year. Sony released it on both PS5 and PC on August 23. As for the scale of its failure, the company doesn't typically reveal detailed player numbers for its own platforms. However, Steam does. The numbers there are not pretty.
A Steam player count isn't entirely reflective of a game's success, Still, it’s a key data point from which we can extrapolate some assumptions. In its first weekend, Concord failed to break 700 concurrent players on Steam. That's a dismal figure for a reasonably high-profile launch, especially one from a major publisher.
For perspective, Galaxy Burger, an indie cooking sim I'd never heard of that came out on the same day, had more than four times the number of concurrent players on Steam (469) as Concord (104) at one point on August 28. As far as a comparison for a supposed blockbuster from this year goes, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League peaked at more than 13,400 simultaneous players on Steam. That co-op game was a notorious flop that led to a $200 million loss for Warner Bros. Discovery.
In addition, Concord has amassed 766 reviews on Steam at the time of writing. Some analysts estimate that each Steam review translates to between 30 and 50 sales. At the midpoint of the scale, that would put Concord's volume of sales on Steam at around 30,000. Given its concurrent players never surpassed its disastrous opening weekend figures, that feels like a generous estimate.
We don't have a strong idea of the sales numbers on PlayStation just yet, but its swift shuttering suggests things were not much better. Either way, it’s clear sales didn’t remotely come close to covering the development and marketing costs for a game that took Firewalk Studios (which Sony bought last year) eight years to make.
There are a bunch of reasons why Concord just didn't grab people's attention. I played a few rounds during the open beta and thought it was so-so. The combat was okay and some of the core ideas — such as a cool, lore-filled map — were interesting, but it felt like there was not enough novelty.
The first wave of characters was bland, which is not ideal for a hero shooter when Apex Legends and Overwatch 2 (vastly more popular rival titles that are free-to-play) each have dozens of distinct, engaging personalities for fans to connect with. The influence of Guardians of the Galaxy is keenly felt, for better or worse, which makes it seem even more like Firewalk and Sony chased after trends that were popular in 2016.
The biggest mistake of all looks to be the price point. With players able to access so many similar games without paying a penny, having to shell out $40 for Concord was evidently not an enticing proposition for the vast majority of PS5 and PC owners.
It's likely that we haven’t heard the last of Concord. Sony says it plans to “explore options, including those that will better reach our players,” which sounds a lot like a free-to-play pivot.
And yet, Concord seems to only be the one real sour note on what's actually been a quietly strong year for PlayStation overall so far.
The Sony-published Helldivers 2 is the second-best selling game in the US so far this year, according to industry analysts at Circana. Only College Football 25 has sold more copies in the country. In fact, Helldivers 2 is the fastest-selling game Sony has ever put out, with more than 12 million copies sold in its first 12 weeks.
Opting to release the game on PS5 and PC simultaneously paid off, as most of the initial wave of sales came via Steam, per analysts. However, the Steam player count has dropped off significantly in recent months, in part because of a controversial account-linking requirement.
Stellar Blade, another Sony-published game from a third-party studio, received a generally positive response from critics and it’s doing well commercially too. Developer Shift Up estimated that sales topped 1 million units within the first two months and said in June that a PC port was under consideration as a result.
Sony's strategy of bringing its major exclusives to PC in the years following their PlayStation debut has been paying off over the last few years. It's released two somewhat older games on Steam this year in the form of Horizon Forbidden West and Ghost of Tsushima. Both are excellent, faithful ports that perform well on my high-end PC as well as my Steam Deck. They were successful sales-wise too, with the former cracking the list of the top 10 best-selling games in the US in its first week. Ghost topped the overall US game sales charts for May overall, per Circana, just after Stellar Blade did the same thing in April.
Sony has at least two more blockbuster PC ports on the way this year. God of War: Ragnarök will hit that platform on September 19. The previous game sold more than 2.5 million units on PC as of last February, per the major Insomniac leak, so the sequel seems primed to do well too. The Until Dawn remake is coming to PC and PS5 just a couple of weeks later.
And then there's the small matter of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, which arrived on PS5 earlier this year with a great new roguelike mode included. There's no PC release date yet, but TLOU Day (Naughty Dog's annual celebration of the series on September 26) is fast approaching. That seems like a prime opportunity for an announcement ahead of the second season of the HBO adaptation debuting in 2025.
A cautious approach seems wise for Part 2. Sony will want to make sure the PC port has nothing like the kinds of technical issues Part 1 had when it arrived on that platform, so giving developers as much time as they need for polish is important.
Sony even has a couple more first-party games lined up for the last chunk of the year. It might not have to wait long to wash off the stink of Concord as the highly anticipated and completely adorable platformer Astro Bot lands on PS5 on September 6. Lego Horizon Adventures — a more family-friendly take on the Horizon series — is headed to PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch in a notable multi-platform debut this holiday season.
And then there's the hardware side of the equation. In the first half of the calendar year, Sony sold just under 7 million PS5s. That’s down from 9.3 million over the same period in 2023, but a dip’s to be expected at this point in the system’s life cycle.
How the PS5 stacks up against the competition tells a bigger story. Although Microsoft has long kept quiet about how many Xboxes it's selling, earlier this year some analysts pegged the ratio of PS5 to Xbox Series X/S sales at more than five to one. Yeesh. Given Sony’s larger install base, it’s little wonder why Microsoft is increasingly eager to bring its first-party games to PlayStation.
Meanwhile, at first glance, the PlayStation Portal seemed like an edge-case peripheral for the diehards. All it does is let you play games from your own PS5 remotely without even supporting Sony's cloud gaming service.
However, the Portal has proven to be a surprising hit. Sony said the device, which was often sold out for months, exceeded its expectations. It's the best-selling games accessory so far this year by dollar amount, according to Circana. And rumors are swirling that Sony is "paying very close attention to the current handheld market," perhaps suggesting that the company is finally ready to work on a proper Vita/PSP successor. One can hope.
Even the beleaguered PS VR2 seems to have had an upturn in fortunes after a recent sale and the release of a dongle that lets owners use it to play virtual reality games on PC. According to one report, the lower price led to a sudden 2,350 percent spike in sales. Sony may have even sold more units in a single day (July 28) than it did in the previous seven months overall, according to The Shortcut. Reports suggest that PS VR2 sales have been disappointing for Sony, but such a sharp increase (or anything close to it) would be astonishing. Along with the discount, the extra utility of being able to use the headset for PC gaming surely helped, as the actual PS VR2 games library remains fairly small.
There's one other piece of hardware that could make 2024 even more of a barnburner for Sony: the widely rumored PS5 Pro. For months, leaks have been suggesting that a mid-generation refresh is coming this holiday season. Rumors point to the PS5 Pro being able to deliver higher speeds, faster game rendering, improved graphics, better ray-tracing performance and an 8K performance mode. Given that Microsoft's new Xbox variants either add internal storage, change the box's color or take away a disc drive, the PS5 Pro may look like an even tastier option for current-gen holdouts.
Update, September 3, 3:15 PM ET: This article was originally published on August 28, six days before Sony announced it was taking Concord offline. It has been updated and republished to reflect that news.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/concord-aside-playstation-is-having-a-great-year-171506490.html?src=rss
Copilot+ features are coming to AI PCs powered by Intel and AMD’s latest chips
Qualcomm’s exclusivity period on Copilot+ PCs is winding down. Microsoft confirmed on Tuesday that Intel’s new 200V processors and AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips will add Copilot+ AI capabilities beginning in November.
Copilot+ PCs include features like Live Captions (real-time subtitle generation, including translations), Cocreator in Paint (prompt-based image generation), Windows Studio Effects image editing (background blurring, eye contact adjustment and auto-framing) and AI tools in Photos. Of particular interest to gamers is Auto Super Resolution, an Nvidia DLSS competitor that upscales graphical resolution and refresh rates in real time without stunting performance.
The AI PCs will also eventually include Recall, Microsoft’s searchable timeline of PC activity. This feature was delayed to enhance security after an initial blowback. (Who’d have thought a history of everything you do on your PC might need to be locked down as tightly as possible?) The company said the revised Recall would start rolling out to beta testers in October.
Intel
Intel’s 200V series processors, revealed today, include a powerful neural processing unit (NPU) that supports up to 48 TOPS (tera operations per second) for locally processed AI models and tools. With up to 32GB of onboard memory, the 200V is “the most efficient x86 processor ever,” according to Intel, with 50 percent lower on-package power consumption.
Microsoft’s Windows and devices lead, Pavan Davuluri, confirmed that Intel’s new chips will support Copilot+. “All designs featuring Intel Core Ultra 200V series processors and running the latest version of Windows are eligible to receive Copilot+ PC features as a free update starting in November,” Davuluri said onstage at Intel’s IFA launch event in Germany.
Meanwhile, according to a Windows blog post, AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 series chips, revealed earlier this summer, will also receive Copilot+ features in November. The NPUs in AMD’s chips can reach up to 50 TOPS for AI performance and have 16 percent faster overall performance than their predecessors.
The first Copilot+ PCs arrived in June, powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chip. The initial batch of Arm-based PCs include laptops and 2-in-1s from Microsoft, Acer, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Asus and Dell.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/copilot-features-are-coming-to-ai-pcs-powered-by-intel-and-amds-latest-chips-190707475.html?src=rss
Instagram Stories are getting comments
Instagram is rolling out comments for Stories. Previously, the short-lived Stories could only be replied to in direct messages. This new feature offers a more visible way for users to interact with their friends' posts. The original poster will not receive the comments in a DM; a rep from Meta said that "comments live only on your Story."
Story comments can be turned on or off for any individual post. If enabled, comments can be seen by anyone following an account, but only mutuals can leave comments. As with the Story post type, the comments will disappear after 24 hours. Small profile images of the commenters will appear at the bottom of a person's Story icon, so you'll know there are comments attached before you tap to view the post.
People can still choose to respond to Stories with a DM if the user has their account set to accept those messages. There's also an option to send a DM in response to a Story comment, which you can do by swiping left on the text and tapping the DM icon.
Instagram has been giving users more ways to snazz up their Stories. The posts can be created with customizable templates, get an AI-generated background or use a growing number of interactive stickers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-stories-are-getting-comments-183051677.html?src=rss
https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-stories-are-getting-comments-183051677.html?src=rss
Elgato's Stream Deck Neo is 15 percent off right now
Folks who are looking to upgrade their livestreaming setup or become more productive on their PC or Mac may be interested in picking up an Elgato Stream Deck Neo. The desktop device allows you to set up all manner of commands and shortcuts that you can trigger with the press of a button. The Stream Deck Neo strikes a good middle ground between the Mini (which has just six buttons) and the full-size model.
The Stream Deck Neo typically costs $100. However, it's currently on sale at Amazon for $85.
The Stream Deck MK.2 has long been one of our recommended accessories for folks who stream gameplay on the likes of Twitch or YouTube. But the smaller Neo can do the trick too. The larger model has 15 LCD keys compared with the Neo's eight, but you can set up multiple pages of shortcuts for the Neo and navigate between them with the press of a button.
Setting up commands and shortcuts through the Stream Deck PC and Mac app can be as simple as dragging and dropping actions into place. There are a ton of presets for you to get started with too. The Stream Deck Neo offers integrations with a bunch of apps, such as Zoom, Teams, PowerPoint, Excel, Word, Google Workspace, Photoshop, Adobe Creative Apps, Spotify and Music. You can use it to control smart home devices as well, including lights and speakers.
An info bar along the bottom can persistently display key information, such as the date and time. What's more, you can customize the image that appears on each LCD button to be just about whatever you want for that ultra-personal touch.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/elgatos-stream-deck-neo-is-15-percent-off-right-now-181501365.html?src=rss
Android 15 is now here a month later than expected
We’re used to hearing about new Android versions during Google Pixel smartphone launch events, but Android 15’s source code is finally out at the Android Open Source Project. It was strangely missing from the Google Pixel launch event last month, but it’s better late than never. Check out the go-live link from the developers here.
Android 15 will be available on select Pixel models soon. Some devices from Samsung, Honor, iQOO, Lenovo, Motorola, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, realme, Sharp, Sony, Tecno, vivo and Xiaomi will receive support in the coming months. Some of the more interesting features are smart volume adjustment and dynamic range compression for apps with AAC audio content containing loudness metadata. Besides improved split-screen app access, there’s also edge-to-edge app display if the app targets SDK 35.
The developers are also starting a series called Spotlight Weeks to explore Android-related technical topics. They’ll start by covering what’s new on Android 15.
Ever since Android 10, Google has stopped naming its latest releases after desserts. Ending the tradition with Android 9 Pie, Google is now focusing on more conventional branding and regular feature releases. While these may be a sign of a mature OS, some of us miss the wilder days filled with anticipation. Take us back, maybe?
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/android-15-is-now-here-a-month-later-than-expected-180045026.html?src=rss
Until Dawn remake studio lays off staffers before the game’s even out
The studio behind the upcoming PlayStation 5 and PC remaster of the PlayStation 4 survivor horror game Until Dawn has let go some of its staffers just a month before its release on October 4. Eurogamer reported the unfortunate news on Sunday, and Ballistic Moon confirmed the layoffs in a statement posted on its LinkedIn page on Labor Day, of all days.
“It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that we must make the tough decision to significantly scale down our team to secure the future of our studio,” the statement reads. “This comes after our development of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC.” Ballistic Moon did not state how many staffers were being cut, or what percentage of the team were let go.
Two former staffers broke the news on their social media accounts over the weekend. Former junior game designer Cassy Cornish and former technical designer Harry Williams posted news about their respective job losses on LinkedIn.
“Like many others in this wonderful but turbulent industry, I am sadly being made redundant from my role as a Junior Game Designer at Ballistic Moon,” Cornish wrote. “The team have been wonderful and I’m so excited for our game to release in October!”
Ballistic Moon is just one of the latest in a long line of game studio and tech company layoffs. Take-Two Interactive, the Behaviour (Dead By Daylight), Bungie (Destiny 2 and Marathon’s) and Humble Games have all seen staff cuts recently.
Eurogamer also reported on Monday that Rocksteady, the studio behind the iconic Batman Arkham games, reduced the size of its QA department from 33 to 15 employees over the past month following the disappointing release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League; One of the laid-off employees was on a scheduled paternity leave.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/until-dawn-remake-studio-lays-off-staffers-before-the-games-even-out-172910650.html?src=rss
Until Dawn remake studio lays off staffers before the game’s even out
The studio behind the upcoming PlayStation 5 and PC remaster of the PlayStation 4 survivor horror game Until Dawn has let go some of its staffers just a month before its release on October 4. Eurogamer reported the unfortunate news on Sunday, and Ballistic Moon confirmed the layoffs in a statement posted on its LinkedIn page on Labor Day, of all days.
“It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that we must make the tough decision to significantly scale down our team to secure the future of our studio,” the statement reads. “This comes after our development of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC.” Ballistic Moon did not state how many staffers were being cut, or what percentage of the team were let go.
Two former staffers broke the news on their social media accounts over the weekend. Former junior game designer Cassy Cornish and former technical designer Harry Williams posted news about their respective job losses on LinkedIn.
“Like many others in this wonderful but turbulent industry, I am sadly being made redundant from my role as a Junior Game Designer at Ballistic Moon,” Cornish wrote. “The team have been wonderful and I’m so excited for our game to release in October!”
Ballistic Moon is just one of the latest in a long line of game studio and tech company layoffs. Take-Two Interactive, the Behaviour (Dead By Daylight), Bungie (Destiny 2 and Marathon’s) and Humble Games have all seen staff cuts recently.
Eurogamer also reported on Monday that Rocksteady, the studio behind the iconic Batman Arkham games, reduced the size of its QA department from 33 to 15 employees over the past month following the disappointing release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League; One of the laid-off employees was on a scheduled paternity leave.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/until-dawn-remake-studio-lays-off-staffers-before-the-games-even-out-172910650.html?src=rss
MLB’s virtual ballpark returns for four regular-season games in September
Major League Baseball’s virtual ballpark is back. Like a metaverse experience for traditional (non-VR) devices, it lets you watch actual games as they're happening in real time, albeit recreated in a 3D environment. MLB will host interactive watch parties in the environment for select games each Wednesday in September.
Like a baseball-centric take on Second Life (for the old folks in the back), it includes 3D avatars corresponding to players’ movements. The plays and athletes’ precise positions are tracked using the same Sony Hawk-Eye cameras used for the league’s Statcast analytics system. The experience sounds tailor-made for headsets like the Vision Pro and Meta Quest, but it’s limited to traditional screens for now. Improbable, a London-based company known for metaverse experiences, created the tech.
There’s also an audio element, as you can hear the play-by-play and game sounds and chat with other fans in spatial audio. New for this season is a party system that lets you talk directly with your friends. The league is also bringing back a virtual scavenger hunt to keep you interested in case the game is a bore.
MLB’s virtual ballpark debuted during the 2023 season, first for an All-Star exhibition and then for a late regular-season game and a Postseason matchup. This season’s virtual lineup kicks off on Wednesday, with three more games following throughout September:
Wednesday, September 4, 6:50PM ET - Tamba Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins
Wednesday, September 11, 7:45PM ET - Reds vs. Cardinals
Wednesday, September 18, 6:35PM ET - Giants vs. Orioles
Wednesday, September 25, 6:40PM ET - Rays vs. Tigers
It isn’t clear who this experience was made for, but hey, at least it’s free. You can log into the virtual ballpark using any modern device with a web browser at MLB’s virtual ballpark website. You’ll need to create or log into an MLB account before they let you past the virtual turnstile.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/mlbs-virtual-ballpark-returns-for-four-regular-season-games-in-september-171533897.html?src=rss
Pixel 9 Pro Fold review: A grown-up, glowed-up foldable
Growing up. It’s something we all do, and devices do too. While there’s been very little innovation in mainstream smartphones lately, foldable phones have been maturing over the last few years and finally seem to be coming into their own. It’s like they’re in the young adult phase of their lives, while the conventional “candybar” handset has largely been figured out. At least, on the outside, anyway.
If foldables are the products, then companies like Samsung and Google are the parents, and each of those two has taken a different approach. Samsung has been more experimental, letting its baby flail around in the playground, falling off swings and cracking its face. Google appears to have been more careful, perhaps sheltering its product before releasing it for the first time last year. And let’s not talk about the elephant in (or missing from) the room — Apple is probably waiting till its foldable is mature enough to skip straight to high school before exposing it to the world.
All that is to say the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels like a glowed-up young adult, ready for reality. Though it would have been more apt to call this the Pixel Fold 2 (since it’s only Google’s second foldable), I can see why the company wants us to think of it as part of the 9-series. With the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, the entire Pixel 9 lineup feels refined and well-equipped to take on the competition. And maybe even win our hearts.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s design
One of my favorite things about the Pixel foldable is its aspect ratio. Compared to the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which my colleague Sam Rutherford has described as more like a skinny baton, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels more like a conventional phone when folded. In fact, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is so much an extension of the Pixel 9 series that its 6.3-inch external display is pretty much the same size as the Pixel 9 and 9 Pro.
But because that panel is encased in a frame designed to house a hinge for the flexible internal screen, the Fold actually looks more similar in size to my iPhone 15 Pro Max. When I picked them both up, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold felt a bit heavier, but I guessed that it was probably close to the iPhone 14 Pro Max in weight. I was wrong — the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is actually 17 grams heavier than the iPhone 14 Pro Max and 36 grams more than the 15 Pro Max. More importantly, at 257 grams (9.06 ounces), the Pixel foldable is 18 grams heavier than the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
It may not be the lightest foldable around, but the Pixel 9 Pro Fold certainly ranks among the thinnest. When open, its profile measures just 5.1mm (0.2 inches) thick, while Samsung’s Z Fold 6 is slightly thicker at 5.6mm.
Numbers alone don’t tell the entire story. Small dimensions look nice on paper, but the way the Pixel 9 Pro Fold feels to hold is a significant part of its evolution. Last year’s model felt a little unfinished, with a bit of a duct-tape vibe to its construction. This time, the device feels solid, thanks to its “aerospace-grade high-strength aluminum alloy” and “matte back with satin metal frame.” The external screen and rear are covered with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, helping it be more scratch-resistant.
Of course, as is usually the case with foldables, durability is a concern and something that we can only gauge with time. The good news is, Sam recently published a durability report after a year with the original Pixel Fold, and the device not only withstood the wear and tear of daily life, but also survived being in the general vicinity of an active toddler for 12 whole months.
Some quick final notes on the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s design: If you’re right-handed, you might appreciate that the bottom right corner of the phone (when folded) is slightly curved. It rests nicely against your palm and is marginally more enjoyable than the experience for those who are left-handed, who might not like the sharper angle of the bottom left corner. I used the Fold in both hands and didn’t find this a major issue, but our videographer Hayato Huseman did not like the design for left-handed use.
I also have a minor complaint that the device is hard to open without first getting a fingernail in between the two halves, but I expect this will get easier in time. More annoying is the slight creak every time I open the phone, but this got smoother over time. On occasion, there’s also a mildly concerning rattle when I shake the Fold, which is something my friend Julian Chokkattu at Wired brought to my attention, so it sounds like a problem that isn’t unique to our unit.
I’ve asked Google if this is an issue with just our review samples or if it’s more widespread and according to the company "this is expected behavior that's due to the telephoto camera VCM. You will likely notice this on Pixel 9 Pro and 9 Pro XL as well." I will say that I hear a similar (though less pronounced) sound when I shake my iPhone 15 Pro Max the same way, so this could just be the optical image stabilization system moving about.
A tale of two Pixel 9 Pro Fold displays
Gather up, aspect ratio nerds, have we got an adventure in intricate numbers for you! Though last year’s Pixel Fold had a 5.8-inch external display with an awkward 17.4:9 aspect ratio, this year’s model is much more intuitive. It’s the same 6.3-inch 20:9 screen as the standard Pixel 9, making it a more familiar size and shape. I’m a little bummed that it has the 1,080 x 2,424 resolution and 60-120Hz adaptive refresh rate of the base Pixel 9, as opposed to the sharper panel on the Pro (which goes down to 1Hz), but it’s not a huge problem.
Sam pointed out that there is the teeniest change in the Pixel Fold’s internal screen. The original was just under 5.875 inches wide when held in landscape, and while the new Pixel Fold’s interior display is the same size in the same orientation, in portrait mode it’s actually 5.625 inches wide. This means the Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s internal display has an almost square 1:1 aspect ratio that’s 8 inches wide diagonally, which is larger than its predecessor’s 7.6-inch panel.
This doesn’t dramatically improve things when you’re viewing widescreen content, and Sam would even call it a “very tiny downgrade” in that scenario. The new screen dimensions will make more of a difference when you’re gaming and multitasking than watching videos. The tweak appears to be more for compatibility, and I still had to live with empty space on either side of videos (in both portrait and landscape orientations) when I played YouTube clips in fullscreen mode.
I should point out that the internal display does actually go down to 1Hz, but has a lower pixel density thanks to its 2,076 x 2,152 resolution. I wasn’t ever blown away by either display, though, and merely found them perfunctory. They both go up to 2,700 nits of peak brightness, and are easy enough to read in sunlight, though the front screen can get up to 1,800 nits with HDR while the one inside only goes to 1,600 nits with HDR.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s cameras and photography features
Google’s original foldable already had better cameras than Samsung’s latest, offering a longer optical zoom, sharper pictures and superior low-light performance. So though it’s slightly disappointing that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold doesn’t come with many hardware upgrades, what it does bring is still greater than the Z Fold 6. In fact, Sam says the Pixel 9 Pro Fold has the best cameras on any foldable you can buy in the US.
Google has kept the main sensor at 48 megapixels and upgraded the ultra-wide camera to enable macro focus. You’ll still find a 5x optical zoom on the telephoto camera, which is longer than the 3x option on Samsung’s Z Fold 6. What’s interesting is that with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, Google had to tweak its camera hardware to “fit our unique ultra thin architecture,” which is a fairly impressive engineering feat.
When it came down to actual pictures, the Pixel consistently outshot the Z Fold 6, with Sam going as far as to say it’s “generally a tier level higher.” Colors are brighter and more accurate, and the telephoto hardware makes a noticeable difference in zoomed-in shots. That’s even before using Google’s Zoom Enhance software, too. Given Samsung has been using the same sensor for the main camera for the last three years, that doesn’t seem surprising, but it’s certainly a shame that those who shelled out $1,900 for the Z Fold 6 are stuck with poorer specs here. It’s strange too, considering Samsung’s main sensor is a higher-res 50MP.
It’s worth noting that Google’s primary hardware update also gave the Pixel 9 Pro Fold more of an edge, since being able to use its ultra-wide camera as a macro shooter made its close-up shots better than Samsung’s. Plus, Google continues to lead in low-light photography, producing sharper, more vibrant and better exposed images than the Z Fold 6.
In fact, software is where the Pixel cameras continue to shine. Google added new features like Add Me and Made You Look this year, with the latter being an exclusive to the Pro Fold. Makes sense, since that uses the internal and external screens. While you have the camera app open on the inside, tapping an icon above the shutter button lets you choose between dual screen, rear camera selfie or Made You Look. Selecting the last one brings up four options of different cartoon animations, and the respective character appears on the outside display. The chicken, or fish, or blob will dance around and make noises to get the attention of your subject. This is meant to work predominantly on children, though I imagine it’ll also pique the curiosity of cats and dogs. I tried it out mostly on adults, and got a slew of pictures of my friends looking incredulously at the camera. Basically this works for people aged one and up!
When you’re ready to edit your pictures, you’ll find the same suite of tools that are on the Pixel 9 Pro. That means things like Magic Editor, Reimagine and Autoframe are also available to spruce up your shots. I won’t retread ground we already covered in that review, but like we mentioned before, these generative-AI features are somewhat effective but occasionally problematic. I like using it to create more bushes or greenery in the background so I can center my friends in a candid photo, but find it concerning that Reimagine could be used to add “wrecks, disasters and corpses” to pictures, according to The Verge.
If you can stay away from the problematic AI tools, though, it’s heartening to see that the Pixel 9 Pro Fold can deliver photos that are as good as the ones I got from my iPhone 15 Pro Max. After all, you’re paying $1,800, you should be getting flagship-level cameras.
Performance and in use
Neither Sam nor I have had more than a week with the Pixel 9 Pro Fold, so it’s a little too early to talk about longterm performance and daily use. In general, though, so far we’ve noticed the new Fold runs smoothly and coolly, just like the other Pixel 9 Pros. That’s largely thanks to the Tensor G4 processor and built-in vapor chamber, and of course, maybe I just haven’t had the Fold long enough but it never got too warm.
I enjoyed watching YouTube with Threads open next to it on the internal screen, and the larger canvas also made Instagram pictures easier to scrutinize. I wish more apps were compatible with the bigger format, though, since my recent favorite games like Fruit Merge don’t expand to the full width and instead sit in the middle, flanked by two bars of empty space.
It’s also strange that flexing the screen, which is supposed to automatically switch compatible apps into a half-and-half layout, only works in landscape mode. That means if you open YouTube, bend the Pixel 9 Pro Fold slightly and flip it so the rear camera is on the top left corner, you’ll see videos take up the top half of the display. The bottom portion is where the title, description, comments and other videos sit.
This layout is intuitive, and makes sense in the landscape orientation where the clip you’re watching is propped up for easier viewing. I just wish there was an equivalent when you’re holding the Fold in portrait mode that would make the comments take up the right half of the display instead of the awkward column it currently uses.
Sam’s experience with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 leads him to find Samsung’s taskbar “a touch better for power users,” since you can set it to always stick around no matter what app you’re on. This makes it easier to launch apps in splitscreen or just jump between tasks. It’s also worth noting that Google doesn’t support stylus input, while Samsung does, and the latter’s DeX multitasking software is handy for productivity. The Pixel Fold doesn’t have such an interface where apps appear in floating windows, though I do like when compatible apps display extra columns or sidebars when they’re on the bigger screen.
Still, these are generally minor quibbles that feel easy enough to solve with software updates you might receive over time. If you’re not a power user or itching to use a stylus with your foldable, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a solid option over the Galaxy Z Fold 6.
The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s battery life
The Pixel 9 series has been delivering seriously good results on our video rundown battery test and the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is no exception. When running on just the external display, the Fold clocked 27 hours and 9 minutes, which is basically the same as what the standard Pixel 9 got. When using just the interior screen, the Fold lasted 23 hours and 22 minutes, which is impressive for how much larger the panel is.
Those numbers are about two to three hours better than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, which notched 25 hours and 19 minutes when folded and 20:07 when open. The new Pixel Fold also beat its predecessor and the OnePlus Open, as neither of those even passed the 20-hour mark on our test.
Wrap-up
Although the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is only Google’s second foldable device, it’s already come a long way. It both looks and feels better than before, with a size and shape that is more similar to a standard phone when closed. When open, the device is easy to hold and provides a roomier canvas for light multitasking and gaming. Plus, compared to its main competition in the US, the Pixel Fold 2 (spiritually anyway) has a superior camera game and longer battery life. It’s also $100 cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 6, though it’s still pretty pricey at $1,800.
Google’s foldable line still has some quirks to work out, but that’s all part of growing up. For a device that’s only been around for two generations, the Pixel 9 Pro Fold is a solid foldable for anyone looking to dip their toe into flexible phones that can double as tablets.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/pixel-9-pro-fold-review-a-grown-up-glowed-up-foldable-170043123.html?src=rss
Concord is going offline after just two weeks
Sony's new team shooter Concord is not going to be playable for much longer. Developer Firewalk Studios says it will take the game offline on September 6, just two weeks after its release, to "explore options, including those that will better reach our players."
You can no longer buy Concord digitally and Sony will refund everyone who bought the $40 game on PlayStation 5, Steam and the Epic Games Store. Those who bought a physical copy can return it to the point of purchase to get their money back.
"While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended," game director Ryan Ellis wrote on the PlayStation Blog.
While Sony hasn't disclosed sales figures, all indications suggested that Concord was a flop out of the gate. The game debuted to middling reviews. It never had more than 700 concurrent players on Steam after its official launch, which is an abysmal result for a fairly high-profile game. Some analysts estimate that it sold just 25,000 copies across Steam and PS5 in its first six days — nowhere near enough to make it sustainable as a live-service game.
It's very uncommon for a major publisher to pull a game offline so soon after its debut. The most recent one that springs to mind is Amazon's Crucible back in 2020.
There are lots of reasons why Concord didn't take off, from its so-so gameplay and lack of captivating characters to heavyweight competition from other free-to-play team shooters including Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone and Sony's own Destiny 2. Firewalk (which Sony bought last year) may well try to retool Concord as a free-to-play game, but this is nothing short of a major failure for Sony as things stand.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/concord-is-going-offline-after-just-two-weeks-163134124.html?src=rss
Dell's XPS 13 gets its third update in a year with Intel's Core Ultra 200V
If you need another sign that it's a very strange year for PC hardware, consider Dell's latest XPS 13 revision with Intel's just-announced Core Ultra 200V processors. It's the third time Dell has revamped its popular ultraportable over the past year. First, it got the original Core Ultra chip in April, and then in July Dell released a Snapdragon-equipped Copilot+ variant. And, as is usually the case with PC hardware, it pays to wait.
The new processors sport a 48 TOPS (tera operations per second) NPU (neural processing unit) for AI tasks, as well as dramatically faster performance and efficiency cores. Intel also claims its new Xe2 GPU, which is built into the chips, is 32 percent faster than the previous Core Ultra, 16 percent faster than AMD's HX 360 and a whopping 68 percent faster than Qualcomm's 12-core X Elite chip.
And since the Core Ultra 200V is an x86 processor, it doesn't have any of the app compatibility and performance issues i saw on the Snapdragon-powered Copilot+ XPS 13. The only major downside over the previous Intel XPS 13 is that you can't upgrade the new system's memory — Intel's Core Ultra 200V chips feature built-in RAM, which isn't upgradeable at all.
Outside of the new chip, Dell says this latest XPS 13 is the first laptop to feature a tandem OLED display, a technology which basically stacks two OLED panels atop each other for better brightness. The new XPS 13 should also be able to get up to 26 hours of battery life while streaming video on its 1080p+ screen.
You can pre-order the XPS 13 with Intel's Core Ultra 200V chips today starting at $1,400.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/dells-xps-13-gets-its-third-update-in-a-year-with-intels-core-ultra-200v-160055759.html?src=rss
Is your iPhone compatible with iOS 18? Here are the eligible Apple devices
Apple
When the presumed iPhone 16 lineup is officially announced at the Apple event in less than a week (here's how to watch it), it will include iOS 18, which Apple already detailed at its developer conference earlier this year. But if you're not planning to upgrade to a newer iPhone model this year, you could be left behind with an operating system that's no longer supported by Apple.
Generally each year, some older iPhone models are removed from Apple's iOS eligibility list. Last year, for instance, the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X were left off the compatibility list. That meant those iPhone owners couldn't update to iOS 17 and missed out on some notable features.
We'll help you find out if your iPhone will support iOS 18, as well as Apple Intelligence. Not sure what's coming with the new update? Here's a summary of the biggest announcements from WWDC, including an overview of iOS 18.
iPhones compatible with iOS 18
We have good news: If you had an eligible phone last year when you updated to iOS 17, that device should still be compatible with iOS 18, according to Apple. That means you won't have to buy a new phone to check out most of the new software features.
iPhone SE (second generation or later)
iPhone XR
iPhone XS
iPhone XS Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
Put another way, if you have an iPhone from the 2017 model year or earlier (iPhone 8 or iPhone X), you can't upgrade to the latest iOS, but your phone should continue to work — albeit without the latest bells and whistles.
Is your iPhone compatible with Apple Intelligence?
While your older device will still be able to support the latest iOS, chances are that you won't get to try the Apple Intelligence beta yet. Unless you have an iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max — the top-end 2023 models — your iPhone isn't eligible. It's a safe bet that the new iPhone 16 models will be fully Apple Intelligence compatible, but we'll have to await the official details at the September 9 event.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/your-iphone-might-not-be-compatible-with-ios-18-here-are-the-eligible-devices-161649447.html?src=rss
Volvo's EX90 SUV was (mostly) worth the wait
There's a big trend in electric SUVs right now, and it probably isn't what you think. It isn't a longer range. It's not more advanced battery construction, super-fast charging or even NACS plugs. No, the real trend in electric SUVs is being delayed. Porsche's electric Macan took its sweet time going to production, as did its sibling the Audi Q6 E-Tron, which was also delayed for months.
Volvo's EX90 has suffered from the same fate. Originally slated to be on the market in 2023, it, plus its corporate cousin the Polestar 3, are only now finally starting to stumble out of Volvo's manufacturing facility near Charleston, South Carolina. Finally, Volvo let me behind the wheel of a pre-production model on a test drive to see whether it was worth the wait.
Was it? Yes and no, but I'm happy to say it's mostly yes.
Let's start with what it is. As the name implies, the EX90 is something of a battery-powered counterpart to the brand's XC90 SUV, the biggest in its lineup. Like the XC90, the EX90 is a three-row SUV with seating for six or seven, depending on configuration, a big, upright stance, and, of course, more safety features than you can shake a stick at.
But Volvo didn't just gut an XC90 and slap a big battery pack in where the engine, exhaust, and fuel tank once lived. This is a dedicated EV platform, an all-new one, designed from the get-go to be electric. It houses a 111-kilowatt-hour battery pack (107 kWh usable) and has a pair of electric motors, one at the rear and one at the front, delivering all-wheel drive.
Volvo
Whether you go for the base, the $79,995 Plus, or the more luxe $84,345 Ultra trim, you get the same dual-motor configuration making 402 horsepower and 568 foot-pounds of torque. If that's not enough, you can spend $5,000 more for the Twin Motor Performance option, which turns the wick up to 510 hp and 671 lb-ft of torque. Both versions are rated for up to 310 miles of range on the EPA test, depending on which options you select.
Interestingly, though, the two models have exactly the same motors and other related hardware. What do you get with the extra $5,000 then? A different set of software and a little white badge on the back that says "TWIN PERFORMANCE." Welcome to the future.
However, it isn't just the drivetrain that differentiates the EX90 from the internal combustion XC90. The EX90 is actually noticeably smaller. It's still big, at 16 and a half feet long, but that's more than three inches shorter in length and an inch shorter in height than the XC90, plus nearly two inches narrower.
The result is a machine that feels just a little cramped compared to Volvo's current big-boy SUV.
Interior
At six feet tall, I could barely squeeze into that third row. There just wasn't anywhere for my feet or knees to go. The second row was much more comfortable, with plenty of headroom, but I still wouldn't call it spacious, with nothing like the generous legroom found in the second row of a BMW iX or even a Hyundai Ioniq 5.
Volvo
Thankfully, I spent most of my time in the front seats, which are excellent. Volvo offers a pair of interior fabrics, Dawn Quilted Nordico, which has a leather-like feel, or Tailored Wool Blend, which feels like a higher-end woven upholstery. My favorite is the latter, by far. Those seats offer generous adjustment and a surprisingly comprehensive massage. Ventilation is about the only thing missing, and that is a bit of a shame.
The rest of the interior is quite stark and clean. The white trim over the charcoal fabric on the machine I drove looks fantastic, as does the raised grain on the wooden dash insert, let down only a bit by the unfortunate bands of chrome running around it.
The highlight of the dash, though, is the 14.5-inch portrait touchscreen that sits upright in the middle. On it, you have access to the Android Automotive system that controls the entirety of the user interface, including the 9.0-inch gauge cluster behind the steering wheel and the projected heads-up display.
Volvo's interface here looks similar to what they started offering about five years ago, but it's so much more comprehensive and responsive to use than before. Google Maps running natively is a great experience, as is being able to do things like adjust vehicle settings via voice with Google Assistant. The inevitable Gemini integration should only make it more powerful.
Android Automotive also gives access to numerous media apps, including Tidal, which offers Dolby Atmos streaming. For the first time, Volvo has a sound system capable of taking advantage of it. A new Bowers & Wilkins system with a whopping 25 speakers fills the cabin with rich, crisp sound. It's available as part of the Ultra trim, which nearly makes it worth the upgrade cost over the base EX90 on its own.
Drive time
The EX90 I test drove was outfitted with the company's largest wheels, 22 inches, and those were wrapped in sticky, European-spec summer tires instead of the more moderate all-season tires American EX90s will feature. Despite those two factors, the EX90 offers superb ride quality.
It was smooth, quiet, and comfortable over every separation joint on the highway and the few broken bits of asphalt I could find. Only a hint of wind noise at the highway speed betrayed the fact that I was moving through space and time and not just the latter. All that conspires to make it an even better soundscape for each of those 25 speakers.
Volvo
The suspension is tuned for compliance, and the EX90 tends to float a bit after striking larger bumps or the like. But, despite that, it was still reasonably engaging on tighter, twistier canyon roads. I wouldn't say it was sharp or necessarily sporty, but it was genuinely fun.
It turns well and has minimal body roll for such a tall thing, thanks in part to situating that big battery pack down in the floor. And, yes, it has plenty of acceleration. Perhaps too much, actually. The throttle pedal is a bit sharp, which may have rear-seat passengers with sensitive stomachs turning green. Perhaps another reason to skip the white interior, lovely as it is.
The one-pedal driving mode is likewise quite sharp, promptly bringing the EX90 down to a complete stop. If that's not to your liking, you can disable it. When off, the EX90 is happy to coast along. There's a third option, too: Automatic. Here, the car coasts most of the time, but if there's a car ahead, it'll more aggressively apply regen to maintain distance.
That's just one aspect of the car's advanced driver systems, which were a bit hit-or-miss.
Big sensors
The most interesting styling cue of the EX90, an SUV that is very smart and sophisticated looking but rather understated, is the sensor pod perched above the windscreen. Inside lives a Luminar Lidar pod, scanning the road ahead and generating a 3D point map of every obstacle. Or, at least, it will.
Right now, that little bit of roof decor is just that. But Volvo said they'll light that sensor up and start collecting data via software update next year. At some point in the future, it'll start integrating better into the car's adaptive safety system, basically acting as another point of reference to augment the other sensors.
Volvo
What's in there now feels more or less like Volvo's current machines. The Pilot Assist system provides comprehensive active lane-keep assistance, meaning it'll keep the car centered in the lane. Volvo has also added an automatic lane-change feature, but you still need to trigger it manually with a full press of the turn stalk. It's all good enough, but a decided step behind the hands-off systems available from Ford, General Motors, and BMW. I also had some issues during my drive, with the lane-centering system refusing to engage on secondary roads.
There were other problems, too. The car uses UWB (ultra-wide band) connectivity with smartphones to work without a key, but our car struggled to detect the phone, leaving me stuck for a few minutes of annoying fiddling every time I got out of the car. It also struggled to detect that my hands were on the wheel, going so far as to disable the active steering system at one point because it thought I wasn't paying attention. (I was.)Finally, the entire active safety suite threw errors twice, once requiring a technician with a laptop to fix.
Wrap-up
After all the delays for the machine, I have to admit I was expecting a more polished experience. That said, I'd suggest not holding that against the EX90. I'm confident Volvo's engineers can fix these issues before the SUVs start showing up at dealerships, which Volvo says will happen sometime before the end of the year.
That the active safety suite lags behind the competition is a bit unfortunate, but surely Volvo has bigger plans for the EX90. The company didn't throw that Lidar sensor on the roof just for looks. Those things are expensive.
Which brings us to the price. Again, the EX90 starts at $79,995 for a dual-motor version with up to 310 miles of range, which puts it in the same ballpark as the Rivian R1S or the Tesla Model X, two other premium three-row SUVs. However, the upcoming Polestar 3, built on the same platform but lacking the Lidar sensor on the roof and the third row of seats out back, starts at $5,000 less.
Is the Volvo worth the extra cost? We'll have to wait until we get some seat time in its corporate cousin until we can say for sure. Stay tuned for that.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/volvos-ex90-suv-was-mostly-worth-the-wait-153035616.html?src=rss
Amazon's Kindle is back on sale at its Prime Day price
While you can do pretty much anything on your phone or tablet, sometimes having a dedicated device is the way to go. Opting for an ereader can help reduce eye strain compared with looking at a smartphone screen for hours on end. The battery will last longer too, and you won't have notifications popping up to distract you. So if you're someone who reads digital books and hasn't picked up an ereader yet (or you're tired of lugging around bulky paperbacks), it's worth considering Amazon's entry-level Kindle.
The Kindle has dropped from $100 to $85. While that's not an all-time-low price, it matches the offer that we saw during Amazon's Prime Day sale in July.
The standard Kindle is our pick for the best budget ereader. With its six-inch, 300dpi E Ink display, it's the lightest and most compact model in Amazon's lineup at the moment.
The Kindle comes with 16GB of storage, which makes it handy for audiobooks. When you buy both an ebook and an audiobook from Amazon, you can swap between the two easily enough on your Kindle. Thanks to the Whispersync feature, you can read for a bit in a park then continue where you left off with the narrated version while you're on your way back home.
You can customize the reading experience by adjusting factors like the margins, font and text size, and even save your preferences as a theme or preset. While page turns are speedy, we felt that the touchscreen gestures didn't always consistently carry out the intended action. It's also worth bearing in mind that unlike other Kindles, this one has no waterproof rating, so you'll want to be careful with it at the beach or pool.
Meanwhile, there's one other thing worth noting here. This model debuted in 2022 and Amazon is expected to host its annual fall hardware event in the coming weeks. The Kindle is due for a refresh so we may see an updated model there. That said, if you're just looking for a relatively inexpensive ereader, this is a solid deal.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazons-kindle-is-back-on-sale-at-its-prime-day-price-145649848.html?src=rss
The MLS Season Pass on Apple TV is now $10 for the rest of the season
Soccer fans (or football to me, a Malaysian) who want to catch up on the latest Major League Soccer (MLS) matches for the rest of the 2024 season can now purchase the MLS Season Pass through Apple TV for $10. For Apple TV+ subscribers, the MLS Season Pass is free. The pass will last until the end of the 2024 season, October 19, and includes playoffs.
All matches will have English and Spanish audio, but you can also listen to the home club’s local radio announcers if you like. Additionally, the season pass includes MLS 360, the show completely covering each matchday, including pre-and post-game coverage, highlights, interviews and more.
You can also stream up to four matches at once thanks to Multiview, but the option is limited to 4K Apple TV devices or iPads. The Catch Up feature helps fans stay updated through automatically selected plays, going through goals, penalty kicks, red cards, notable shots and saves.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/the-mls-season-pass-on-apple-tv-is-now-10-for-the-rest-of-the-season-145100471.html?src=rss
The best Labor Day tech sales you can still get from Apple, Amazon, Samsung and more
Although the holiday weekend has come to a close, some Labor Day sales are still available. Historically, Labor Day isn't a boon for tech deals but there are always a few decent ones that pop up, particularly in the outdoor tech space. Labor Day sales often overlap with back-to-school sales as well, so you're usually able to save on tech like tablets, speakers, kitchen gear, charging accessories and other items that can help make for a smooth return to campus.
Regardless of if you're going back to school or not, we've collected the best Labor Day tech sales that you can still get today, including discounted gear from Apple, Amazon, Samsung and others. If you're an Amazon Prime member, just be mindful that the company's "big deal days" will return in October — if something on your list isn't on sale now, there's a chance it will be in a few weeks' time.
Labor Day sales: Engadget top picks
Apple MagSafe Charger for $29 ($10 off)
Apple iPad (9th gen) for $199 ($130 off)
Apple AirTags (4-pack) for $75 ($25 off)
Amazon Kindle for $85 ($15 off)
Lexar Play microSD card (1TB) for $66.49 ($63.50 off)
Ninja Creami ice cream maker for $149 ($50 off)
Paramount+ annual subscriptions starting at $30/year (50 percent off)
Labor Day sales on Apple gear
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget
We're expecting to see all-new iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods soon, but plenty of Apple's current devices are cheaper than usual. The M2 MacBook Air is still a strong value at $799, for instance, while the company's official MagSafe wireless charger is a few bucks below the street price we've seen for most of the past few months.
iPad (9th gen) for $199 ($130 off): This model has technically been discontinued, but at this record-low price, it's a great option for kids or anyone who wants to snag an iPad for dirt-cheap.
Apple AirTags (4-pack) for $75 ($25 off): Only $2 more than the record-low, this sale price brings the cost per AirTag down to just $18.75. iPhone users can attach these Bluetooth trackers to their keys, bag, wallet and other belongings to keep track of them via the Find My app.
Apple MagSafe Charger for $29 ($10 off): This is a rare discount on Apple's own MagSafe charging pad, which provides up to 15W of wireless power to your iPhone and a strong, magnetic attachment.
MacBook Air (13-inch, M2) for $799 ($200 off): Don't sleep on the M2 MacBook Air. It's plenty powerful despite not having Apple's latest chipset, and the 13-inch model is down to a near record low.
Apple Watch Series 9 (GPS) for $299 ($100 off): If you just can't wait for (presumably) the Series 10 to drop in September, $100 off the Apple Watch Series 9 is one of the best deals we've seen on our top pick for the best smartwatch.
Apple Music 3-month free trial for $0: New subscribers can get an extra-long free trial of Apple Music, three months instead of the usual one.
Labor Day sales on outdoor tech
Ooni
If you've been looking to pick up a new pizza oven or fire pit for the backyard, some of our favorites from Ooni and Solo Stove are still on sale.
Ooni Fyra 12 pizza oven for $250 ($100 off): This is one of our top picks for the best pizza ovens, and its compact size makes it a little more manageable, plus it convenient runs on wood pellets that you can easily refill from its built-in chute.
Ooni Karu 16 multi-fuel pizza oven for $649 ($150 off): This Ooni oven can make pizzas up to 16-inches, and it supports wood, charcoal or gas as fuel sources.
Solo Stove Labor Day sale — up to $150 off with code LABORDAY: Use code LABORDAY at checkout to get up to $150 off fire pits, pizza ovens and more. A highlight is the Bonfire Backyard Bundle discounted to $455.
Labor Day subscription sales
Paramount+
There are too many subscription services in the world these days; if you must add another, you might as well do it while it's cheaper. Of note right now is a good discount on Paramount+ — just in time for the start of the football season.
Paramount+ annual subscriptions — 50 percent off with plans starting at $30/year: The Essential plan is only $30 for your first year, while the upgraded plan with access to Showtime (and limited ads) costs just $60 with this discount.
1Password Families annual plan for $45 (25 percent off): This is a great discount on our top pick for the best password manager, and the Families plan includes access for five people on an unlimited number of devices.
Labor Day sales on kitchen and smart home gear
Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget
From the "inessential but potentially convenient home appliances" department, a few recommended robot vacuums from iRobot and Roborock are discounted, as is the buzzy Ninja Creami ice cream maker.
Ninja Creami ice cream maker for $149 ($50 off): This model of the popular, at-home ice cream maker includes 5 one-button programs, including ice cream, milkshake and sorbet, and it comes with two 16-ounce pints with storage lids for you to save all of your creations.
Ninja end of summer sale: A number of Ninja's tabletop appliances are on sale right now, including the 11-in-1 version of the Creami (with extra storage pints).
iRobot Roomba Q0120 robot vacuum for $179 ($70 off): This basic Roomba has three power levels, up to 120 minutes of run time and connects to the iRobot mobile app for easy cleaning scheduling and maintenance.
iRobot Roomba Combo j5 robot vacuum and mop for $299 ($300 off): This is the best price we've seen on the Combo j5, which vacuums and mops thanks to its included mopping pad and water reservoir. Just note that it does not come with a self-emptying base.
Labor Day sales on Amazon devices
Amazon has discounted a few of its own gadgets, including its latest Echo Spot alarm clock/smart speaker and top-end Fire TV Stick streamer.
Amazon Kindle for $85 ($15 off): This is a return to the Prime Day price for Amazon's basic Kindle, which is our top budget pick on our best eareaders guide.
Echo Spot for $55 ($25 off): While not quite as cheap as it was around Prime Day in July, the revived Echo Spot is down to one of the best prices we've seen. You can get the same sale price on a bundle that includes the Echo Spot and a Sengled smart light bulb, too.
Echo Pop + Sengled smart light bulb bundle for $23 ($37 off): This is Amazon's smallest Alexa-power speaker and the free Sengled smart light bulb this bundle includes is one of our favorites.
Fire TV Stick 4K Max for $40 ($20 off): This is a return to the streaming stick's record-low price, and this model supports 4K HDR content and Wi-Fi 6E.
Fire HD 10 tablet (64GB) for $100 ($80 off): This tablet has extra storage than the base, plus a 10-inch touchscreen and up to 13 hours of battery life.
Labor Day tech sales
Anker
A range of other gadgets we like are also still on sale right now, from microSD cards to wireless earbuds to Theragun massagers.
Lexar Play microSD card (1TB) for $66.49 ($63.50 off): This high-capacity microSD card is nearly half off right now. It's compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck and other systems, making it a great option if you want as much additional storage as possible for a solid sale price.
Samsung Music Frame for $300 ($100 off): This frame-like speaker can hold album art and includes two woofers, two tweeters and two mid-range drivers.
Samsung Freestyle Gen 2 projector for $600 ($200 off): The latest version of this projector rotates 180 degrees so you can get the exact right placement for your screen (even if that happens to be on your ceiling), and it comes with a built-in speaker for 360-degree sound.
Jabra Elite 8 Active earbuds for $160 ($40 off): One of our top picks for the best headphones for running, the Elite 8 Active have an IPX4 design, great sound quality and ANC and a solid battery life. Jabra may be exiting the consumer headphone business, but the company will continue to support products like this for a while.
Theragun Elite massage gun for $299 ($100 off): This massage gun comes with five attachments, includes a built-in OLED screen and allows you to save three preset treatments to your device using its accompanying mobile app. Also available at Theragun.
Theragun Mini 2.0 massage gun for $149 ($50 off): The most compact of Theragun's massage machines, the Mini 2.0 is 20 percent smaller and 30 percent lighter than its predecessor, and remains a great gift for the runner in your life. Also available at Theragun.
Keychron C3 Pro keyboard for $25 ($12 off): This is a record-low price on our budget pick in our guide to the best mechanical keyboards; just note that this particular model does not have RGB lighting or hot-swappable keys.
Expired Labor Day sales
iPad Air (M2) for $729 ($60 off): The iPad Air remains our top pick for the best iPad for most people, and this 13-inch version gives you a little extra screen real estate.
MacBook Air (13-inch, M3) for $899 ($200 off): Just $50 shy of a record low, this deal on the latest 13-inch MacBook Air gives you our top pick for the best MacBook at a great price — a solid opportunity for students going back to school to snag an excellent, lightweight laptop for less.
Mac Mini (M2 Pro) for $1,150 ($150 off): If you're looking to upgrade your desktop computer, this discount-plus-coupon deal is a solid one on the Mac Mini with an M2 Pro chipset.
AirPods Max for $399 ($150 off): One of our biggest issues with the AirPods Max since their debut has been their sky-high price tag. They're a much better buy at this sale price.
Astro A40 TR gaming headset for $100 ($30 off): This is a great deal on a top pick in our guide to the best gaming headsets, and we liked it for its comfortable design, spacious sound profile and solid value.
Anker 10K magnetic power bank for $30 ($10 off): This slim, MagSafe charging brick can power up an iPhone easily without adding too much bulk, and this is the best sale price we've seen.
Roborock Q5 Max+ robot vacuum for $330 ($120 off): This is an upgraded version of one of our top picks for the best budget robot vacuums and it has 5500Pa of suction, LiDAR navigation and its own self-emptying base.
Masterclass annual subscription for $60 (50 percent off): Annual plans range for $60 to $120 for your first year, with the major differences between the plans coming in how many simultaneous device streams you have, plus the ability to download classes for offline viewing.
Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for $1,050 ($250 off): This is close to a record-low price on what we consider to be the best premium Android phone on the market right now.
Sonos Labor Day sale — up to 20 percent off speakers: Sonos' discounts for the holiday weekend include $50 off the Era 100 speaker and $180 off the Arc soundbar.
JBL Labor Day sale — up to 40 percent off: Bluetooth speakers, wireless earbuds and more gear are included in JBL's holiday sale, with highlights being the PartyBox 310 speaker for $420 and the Tune Flex earbuds for $50.
Barnes & Noble Lego sale — up to 25 percent off: A handful of Star Wars, Mario, Disney and other sets are discounted at the book retailer, including this Death Star Trench Run Diorama for just under $53.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-best-labor-day-tech-sales-you-can-still-get-from-apple-amazon-samsung-and-more-100032016.html?src=rss
Bluesky added 2 million new users in a week following Brazil's X ban
In a post on its own social network, Bluesky has revealed that it has added two million new people over the last week, which is a lot of growth in such a short time for a platform that only has around 8.4 million users overall. The same post has a Portuguese translation of the announcement, most likely because a huge chunk of those new users are from Brazil. If you'll recall, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes recently ordered the country's internet service providers to block X after the website formerly known as Twitter refused to ban specific accounts accused of spreading disinformation.
Moraes also ordered Apple and Google to remove X from their app stores and for people caught using VPN to access the website to be fined R$50,000 ($8,900). Brazil's Supreme Court has just upheld the ban on X after its judges voted unanimously in favor of the measure, according to the BBC. X owner Elon Musk accused Moraes of destroying democracy "for political purposes." The website also created a new profile called "Alexandre Files," which it said would shine a light "on the abuses of Brazilian law committed by Alexandre de Moraes."
After X became inaccessible in Brazil, users in the country found new homes elsewhere. Bluesky experienced a huge spike in the number of unique daily likes and posters, as well as in the number of unique followers, on the last days of August. While the website isn't quite as robust as Twitter yet, it recently teased that its next major app updated will come with video features, which could help keep its new users around.
Bluesky is a decentralized social network that was previously funded and was founded in 2019 by Twitter-founder Jack Dorsey. The website launched as an invite-only social network, but it finally opened to the public earlier this year. It also introduced new features most users would look for if they're set on leaving X, including direct messaging. While DMs only worked between two users upon launch, the website promised to roll out group messaging, media support and end-to-end encryption "down the line." Dorsey, however, exited the Bluesky board in May and later claimed that the website was "literally repeating all the mistakes" he made while running Twitter.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/bluesky-added-2-million-new-users-in-a-week-following-brazils-x-ban-140032112.html?src=rss