Engadget

26.01.2024 09:13 Following Apple's announcement of enabling third-party app stores for iOS users in the European Union, Epic Games confirms that it'll be bringing Fortnite back to the iPhone and iPad in Europe later this year — by way of a new Epic mobile games store. This will mark the title's official return to Apple's platform since it was yanked back in August 2020, after Epic offered discounts to payments made directly to its own store, instead of Apple's App Store and Google Play which would take a 30-percent cut. iOS users have had to rely on Xbox Cloud Gaming or GeForce Now to play Fortnite, but this will soon be a thing of the past for those based in Europe. Fortnite's grand return to iOS in Europe is all thanks to the EU's new Digital Markets Act, which goes into effect March 7. This allows developers to take payments and distribute apps from outside of the App Store, pending Apple's new "Notarization" approval process to spot harmful apps. Apple is also introducing a new fee structure that claims to cost less, if not the same, for most developers who publish to European markets. Fortnite will return to iOS in Europe in 2024, distributed by the upcoming @EpicGames Store for iOS. Stay tuned for details as we figure out the regulatory timeline. We'll continue to argue to the courts and regulators that Apple is breaking the law. https://t.co/MHh6EGVinC— Epic Games Newsroom January 25, 2024 Even though the upcoming changes will allow Epic Games to make money off iOS users once again , founder and CEO Tim Sweeney called out Cupertino for the "new Junk Fees on downloads and new Apple taxes on payments they don't process." The exec later spotted more "hot garbage" in the details, particularly the terms related to requesting an entitlement from Apple. "Under what possible theory of antitrust regulation is it acceptable for a monopoly to decide what companies are allowed to compete with it, and on what terms they can compete? Apple makes a mockery of free market competition," Sweeney said in a post on X. The infuriated tone here comes as no surprise, especially after the US Supreme Court rejected Epic's appeal that Apple violated federal antitrust laws earlier this month.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/epic-games-confirms-fortnite-is-coming-back-to-ios-in-europe-this-year-040818909.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 The Federal Trade Commission is launching an inquiry into massive investments made by Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet into generative AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic, the agency announced on Thursday. The FTC said that it had issued “compulsory orders” to the companies and would scrutinize their relationships with AI startups to understand their impact on competition. “History shows that new technologies can create new markets and healthy competition,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “As companies race to develop and monetize AI, we must guard against tactics that foreclose this opportunity. Our study will shed light on whether investments and partnerships pursued by dominant companies risk distorting innovation and undermining fair competition.” The companies have 45 days to respond to the agency. Ever since OpenAI released ChatGPT at the end of 2022, generative AI has exploded, sparking both excitement about its potential to increase productivity as well as anxiety about job losses. Against this backdrop, the world’s largest tech companies have been racing to develop their own versions of the tech as well as pouring billions of dollars into smaller startups creating it. Microsoft, for instance, invested more than $13 billion into OpenAI for a 49 percent stake, using the startup’s tech to add generative AI capabilities to Bing, its own search engine, as well as Windows and Office. Amazon and Alphabet invested $4 billion and $2 billion in Anthropic, an AI startup that makes a chatbot called Claude. In an opinion column in The New York Times last year, the FTC’s Khan wrote that “the expanding adoption of AI risks further locking in the market dominance of large incumbent technology firms” and argued for AI regulation. As part of its investigation, the FTC is seeking information about the specifics of Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet’s investments, decisions around new product releases, oversight rights, analyses of market share and potential for sales growth among other details. The US isn’t the only country examining Big Tech’s ties with generative AI startups. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said last month that it was examining whether Microsoft’s investment into OpenAI was subject to antitrust law. In a post on X in December, Microsoft’s president Brad Smith characterized the company’s OpenAI investment as a partnership “that has fostered more AI innovation and competition, while preserving independence for both companies.” Microsoft currently has a non-voting observer seat on OpenAI’s board, which, said Smith, was “very different from an acquisition.” “We hope the FTC’s study will shine a bright light on companies that don’t offer the openness of Google Cloud or have a long history of locking-in customers – and who are bringing that same approach to AI services," a Google spokesperson told Engadget. "The U.S. has assumed a global AI leadership position because important American companies are working together," Rima Alaily, Microsoft's vice president for Competition and Market Regulation, told Engadget in a statement. "Partnerships between independent companies like Microsoft and OpenAI, as well as among many others, are promoting competition and accelerating innovation. We look forward to providing the FTC with the information it needs to complete its study.” Spokespeople from Amazon and Anthropic declined to comment. OpenAI did not respond to a request for comment from Engadget.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-is-investigating-microsoft-amazon-and-alphabets-giant-investments-into-ai-startups-190939602.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 Apple is making major changes to the App Store and other core parts of iOS in Europe in response to new European Union laws. Beginning in March, Apple will allow users within the EU to download apps and make purchases from outside of its App Store. The company is already testing many of these changes in its iOS 17.4 beta, which is available now to developers. Apple has long resisted many of these changes, arguing that it would leave users susceptible to scams, malware and other privacy and security issues. But under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which goes into effect March 7, major tech companies like Apple are required to make significant changes to their businesses. In a statement, Apple’s Phil Schiller made clear that the company still believes some of these changes, like opening up its App Store, will pose a risk to users. “The changes we’re announcing today comply with the Digital Markets Act’s requirements in the European Union, while helping to protect EU users from the unavoidable increased privacy and security threats this regulation brings,” he said. The most significant changes will be for developers, who will be able to take payments and distribute apps from outside of the App Store for the first time. Under the new rules, Apple will still enforce a review process for apps that don’t come through its store. Called “Notarization,” the review will use automation and human reviewers and will be “focused on platform integrity and protecting users” from things like malware. But the company notes it has “less ability to address other risks — including apps that contain scams, fraud, and abuse, or that expose users to illicit, objectionable, or harmful content.” Apple is also changing its often-criticized commission structure so that developers will pay 17 percent on subscriptions and in-app purchases with the fee reducing to 10 percent for “most developers” after the first year. At the same time, Apple is tacking on a new 3 percent “payment processing” fee for transactions that go through its store. And a new “core technology fee” will charge a flat €0.50 fee for all app downloads, regardless of whether they come from the App Store or a third-party website, after the first 1 million installations. According to Apple, the new fee structure will result in most developers paying the company less with less than they currently do, since the core technology fee will have the greatest impact on larger developers. Apple The updates could bring other significant changes for iPhone users in Europe. Apple will offer new APIs that will allow app makers to access the iPhone’s NFC chip for wireless payments, enabling tap-to-pay transactions that don’t rely on Apple Pay. It's also making a tweak to its Safari web browser so that iOS users in Europe will be immediately prompted about whether they want to change their default browser the first time they launch the app after the iOS 17.4 update. Additionally, browser developer will be able to use an engine besides Apple's own WebKit, which could lead to browsers like Chrome and Firefox releasing new versions using their own technology for rendering sites. Whether that'll make those browsers faster or better than Safari remains to be seen, but it has the potential to be a major change for one of the most important apps on your phone. Update, 4:30PM ET: Added details about browsers not being restricted to using Apples WebKit technology.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pple-details-how-third-party-app-stores-and-payments-will-work-in-europe-183931334.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 After three years of service, NASA's Ingenuity Helicopter has flown on Mars for the last time. Earlier this month, during its 72nd flight, Ingenuity stopped communicating with the Perseverance rover. Although NASA later reestablished contact with the helicopter, it emerged that at least one of Ingenuity's carbon fiber rotor blades was damaged during a landing on January 18th. The helicopter is upright and is still in contact with ground controllers, but it's no longer capable of flight. Ingenuity far outlasted its original planned lifespan. NASA designed the helicopter to carry out up to five test flights over 30 days. But it stayed in service for over three years. Ingenuity flew over 14 times farther than originally anticipated and it had a total flight time of over two hours. “The historic journey of Ingenuity, the first aircraft on another planet, has come to end,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in a statement. “That remarkable helicopter flew higher and farther than we ever imagined and helped NASA do what we do best — make the impossible, possible. Through missions like Ingenuity, NASA is paving the way for future flight in our solar system and smarter, safer human exploration to Mars and beyond.” After Ingenuity's initial five flights, NASA decided to keep the helicopter running as an operations demonstration. It scouted ahead for Perseverance. On January 18, the Ingenuity team planned a short vertical flight so they could pinpoint the helicopter's location after it had to make an emergency landing on its previous jaunt. The chopper reached a height of 40 feet and hovered for 4.5 seconds before descending at a rate of 3.3 feet per second. However, it lost contact with Perseverance when it was about three feet above the surface. It's not clear how the rotor blade sustained damage. NASA's looking into whether the blade struck the surface. Perseverance is too far away to take a look at Ingenuity itself. The chopper's own camera spotted damage on the shadow of a rotor blade. NASA/JPL-Caltech The hardy helicopter endured tough terrain, a dead sensor, dust storms and a winter on Mars. The Ingenuity team will wind down the helicopter's operations after carrying out final tests and downloading the last data and imagery from its memory. After making history as the first aircraft from Earth to conduct a powered, controlled flight on another planet, all Ingenuity can do now is rest easy on the surface of Mars. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/nasas-ingenuity-helicopter-has-flown-on-mars-for-the-final-time-204004656.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 Shortly after Japan’s space agency became the fifth country to land a spacecraft on the surface of the moon, its scientists discovered the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon unfortunately touched down upside down. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency said that the SLIM landed on the lunar surface on January 20 but it knew it might have bigger problems due to an issue with power generation. Just hours after making landfall, JAXA expected the power to run out, before it ultimately did. SLIM met the moon’s surface about 55 meters east of the original target landing site, JAXA said. The agency did get all of the technical information related to its navigation prior to landing and ultimately becoming stationary on the lunar surface. JAXA captured photos of the SLIM from its The Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2, its fully autonomous robot currently exploring the moon. The Lunar Excursion Vehicle 2 has successfully taken an image of the #SLIM spacecraft on the Moon. LEV-2 is the world’s first robot to conduct fully autonomous exploration on the lunar surface. https://t.co/NOboD0ZJIr pic.twitter.com/mfuuceu2WA— JAXA Institute of Space and Astronautical Science January 25, 2024 The reason behind the main engine malfunctioning is under investigation by the space agency. There is a slim chance for regeneration because the solar cells that power the spacecraft are facing west, meaning there is a chance for SLIM recovery if enough light from the sun reaches the cells as more time passes. The SLIM JAXA team took to X earlier this week to write, “We are preparing for recovery.” The agency said it will “take the necessary preparations to gather more technical and scientific data from the spacecraft.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/japans-slim-lunar-spacecraft-landed-upside-down-on-the-moon-202819728.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 Researchers at MIT have developed a rapid 3D-printing technique that uses liquid metal to allow for extremely fast prints. The process can manufacture large aluminum components in minutes, whereas many pre-existing techniques would take hours to finish the same build. The technology has already been used to create table legs, chair frames and related furniture parts. It’s called liquid metal printing and involves directing molten aluminum along a predefined path into a bed of tiny glass beads. These beads quickly harden into a 3D structure. Researchers say the new process is at least ten times faster than comparable metal manufacturing techniques. However, there is one major caveat. This process sacrifices resolution for speed and scale. This is why the researchers have used it to create low-resolution items like chair legs and not, say, intricate parts with complex geometries. MIT researchers say this trade-off still makes the technology useful for creating “components of larger structures” that don’t require extremely fine details. This includes furniture parts, as mentioned above, but also components for construction and industrial design. Despite the resolution downgrade, parts made using LMP are still durable and can withstand post-print machining, like drilling and boring. The folks behind this technology say the builds are much more durable than those built with wire arc additive manufacturing, which is a pre-existing metal printing method. This is because LMP keeps the material molten throughout the entire process, lessening the chances of cracking and warping. The researchers recommend combining LMP with other techniques for jobs that require both speed and a high resolution. “Most of our built world — the things around us like tables, chairs, and buildings — doesn’t need extremely high resolution”, said Skylar Tibbits, a senior author of a paper that introduced the project. It’s also worth noting that this printing method doesn’t require aluminum. It can work with other metals. The researchers chose aluminum due to its popularity in construction and the fact that it’s easily recycled. The folks behind this tech hope to keep iterating on the concept to improve heating consistency, to prevent sticking, and allow for greater control over the molten metal. The team’s been having issues with larger nozzle diameters leading to irregular prints, which is something that needs to be worked out. Tibbits said the method could eventually become a “game-changer in metal manufacturing.” Despite slightly falling out of favor in the commercial space, 3D printing has grown in leaps and bounds in recent years. Researchers have developed a tiny 3D printer that actually gets inserted into the body to repair and clean damaged tissue. Scientists also recently printed a working piece of the human heart.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mit-researchers-have-developed-a-rapid-3d-printing-technique-that-uses-liquid-metal-194113455.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrived last week, and if the cutscene commentary from the game's director, writer and key actors wasn't enough for you, Naughty Dog has another behind the scenes piece coming. Grounded II: Making The Last Of Us Part II, a documentary on the game's creation, will arrive on February 2 at 12PM ET on YouTube as well as in the game itself. There's a trailer in the remastered game currently, and the full documentary will be added via a downloadable patch. That patch will also have some new skins for Ellie and Abby in the main game. The development of The Last of Us Part II was challenging, to say the least —Naughty Dog infamously crunched its employees to get the game done, but it was still delayed multiple times. Plus, key scenes from the game that contained extensive spoilers were leaked just a few weeks before the game launched, and the team also had to content with the Covid-19 outbreak while finishing everything up. Judging from the Grounded II trailer that Naughty Dog released a few weeks ago, it looks like all those topics and more will be added in the documentary — though I wager Naughty Dog will only address the crunch situation in a way that doesn't reflect badly on the studio or Sony. That caveat aside, the previous Grounded documentary that covered the development of the original The Last of Us for the PS3 was a pretty in-depth look at how things work inside a game studio. So while we're certainly going to get a sanitized version of the truth, fans of the game will likely be interested to hear directly how the studio decided to make the controversial narrative choices it did, and how the fallout from the leaks affected the game's launch. Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II is coming on February 2!You'll be able to watch this documentary on YouTube and as part of an upcoming downloadable patch for #TLOU2Remastered. The update also includes additional new skins for Ellie and Abby! pic.twitter.com/kcWG2YVI6l— Naughty Dog January 25, 2024 This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/naughty-dogs-behind-the-scenes-documentary-on-the-last-of-us-part-2-arrives-february-2-184556009.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 New York City has officially become the first city in the US to designate social media as a “public health hazard.” During a State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams shared that Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan determined apps like Tik Tok and Instagram are considered “environmental toxins” that impose harm onto young teens and adolescents. “We are going to correct this crisis that is facing our children,” Adams said during the address. Social media, the mayor explained, is fueling the growing mental health crisis in the city. This can be attributed to the addictive nature of these platforms, he added. On X, Adams wrote, “We won't let Big Tech endanger our kids.” However, besides delivering an advisory warning, the city did not clearly explain how it plans to actually curb the “risk” of social media use. More details about this designation and plans to implement strategies will be explained in the near future. Social media companies are fueling a mental health crisis, especially for our young people. But we won't let Big Tech endanger our kids.@NYCHealthCommr Vasan is today issuing an advisory officially designating social media as an environmental toxin in New York City. #SOTC2024 pic.twitter.com/8Rddkzr1hM— Mayor Eric Adams January 24, 2024 During a convention in June 2023, NYC officials gathered together stakeholders to discuss possible implications of social media use among young people and recommendations for how to tackle the issue. According to experts, a huge part of the initiative to make social media safer for teens can be accomplished by increasing protocols that enforce better data transparency. Tech companies were called on to improve algorithms and moderate harmful content out of feeds. While the Kids Online Safety Act, the Congressional bill passed last year, places the onus on tech companies to make their platforms safer for children, it's unclear how a state-specific initiative could logistically tackle the expansive nation-wide issue. New York City could follow in California’s footsteps and roll out regulations like the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act , which sets limits on the amount and kind of information a tech company can collect from underage users. While it doesn't officially become enforceable until July of 2024, when it does, the Attorney General will be able to penalize tech companies with civil fees if they fail to remain compliant. CAADCA is based on the success of policies enforced in the UK designed to protect children online. For example, its enactment encouraged TikTok and Instagram to disable direct messages between children and adults they dont follow on social media. While New York City’s measures to protect children online is still more of a sentiment than an actionable plan, any moves to further restrict the way tech companies operate in the city might sour some relationships with business leaders and officials. While the social media stance Adams has might be harsh, it could also be perceived as contradictory when considering his administration has been pretty tech-friendly otherwise. For example, the Adams administration openly embraced the rollout of AI within the city’s digital infrastructure. An AI-powered GPT program called the MyCity Chatbot is publicly available for New Yorkers to use to help residents find answers about running businesses in the city. Adams’ office is also creating artificial intelligence to make robocalls to residents in several languages.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-york-city-has-designated-social-media-as-a-public-health-hazard-182523034.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 When I first reviewed the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, I wrote that some of the most intriguing features were the ones I couldn’t try out yet. Of these, the most interesting is what Meta calls “multimodal AI,” the ability for the glasses to respond to queries based on what you’re looking at. For example, you can look at text and ask for a translation, or ask it to identify a plant or landmark. The other major update I was waiting for was the addition of real-time information to the Meta AI assistant. Last fall, the assistant had a “knowledge cutoff” of December 2022, which significantly limited the types of questions it could answer. But Meta has started to make both of these features available . I’ve now been trying them for a few weeks and the experience has been unexpectedly eye-opening about the current state of AI. Multimodal search is impressive, if not entirely useful yet. But Meta AI’s grasp of real-time information is shaky at best, often providing completely inaccurate information in response to simple questions. When Meta first teased multimodal search at Connect last fall, my first impression was that it could be a total game changer for its smart glasses. The first-generation of shades Meta made with Ray-Ban looked nice enough, but weren’t all that useful. And as much as I still feel weird about saying “hey Meta,” having an AI assistant that can “see” seemed like something where the usefulness might outweigh my own discomfort with having a Meta-enabled camera on my face. After a few weeks of actually trying it, I still think multimodal has significant potential, but whether or not it’s actually useful will depend on what you want to use it for. For example, I could see it being incredibly useful while traveling. One of my favorite features so far is the ability to get real-time translations and text summaries. I frequently rely on the Google Translate app’s camera-based features while traveling, but it’s not always practical to pull out my phone. Being able to look at a street sign or bit of text and say “Hey Meta, look and tell me what this says” is actually really useful. That said, the wide-angle lens on the glasses’ camera means you have to be fairly close to the text for Meta AI to be able to see it clearly and translate it. And for longer chunks of text, it tends to provide a summary rather than an exact translation so you’ll probably still need your phone to decipher things like restaurant menus. Similarly, landmark identification might be a useful feature for travelers, kind of like having an audio guide with you at all times. But the early access version of multimodal search doesn't yet support those features, so I haven’t been able to try it myself. Karissa Bell for Engadget Back at home though, I haven’t found many practical uses for multimodal search just yet. It can identify some types of plants, as well as a bunch of other random objects. Right now, this feels like a bit of a gimmick, though if I ever run across an exotic and unidentifiable fruit I know where to turn. I’ve asked it to write goofy social media captions and have mostly been underwhelmed. Its suggestion for a funny Instagram caption for a photo of my cat was: “Purifying the air and napping like a pro. #airpurifier #catsofinstagram.” I’ve tried asking it to help me pick out clothes, like Mark Zuckerberg did in a recent Instagram post, and was also unimpressed. It may work well for a guy who famously wore the exact same shirt every day for years, but I wouldn’t count on it for any major fashion inspiration. Karissa Bell for Engadget One interesting potential use case I discovered was for recipe ideas. I pulled out some chicken thighs, chicken broth, sweet potatoes, rice noodles, garbanzo beans and tomato sauce and asked Meta AI what I should cook with my ingredients. It suggested a “hearty chicken stew” or a “healthy chicken stir fry,” which seemed like reasonable enough suggestions. As is often the case with AI tools, I had a bit more luck with specific questions. When I showed it chicken and chicken stock and asked it what else I needed to make chicken pot pie, it correctly named two key missing ingredients . Meta AI was also able to walk me through a very basic recipe for completing the dish. Is this the most practical way to find recipes and get cooking tips? Not at all, especially if you‘re using the sunglasses rather than the Ray-Ban frames with clear lenses. But as someone who frequently cooks with online recipes and gets frustrated with trying to unlock my phone in the middle of a crucial step, it did make me imagine a scenario where I could get seamless audio cues about what I was doing without turning my attention away from the stove. To be clear, Meta AI isn’t able to do anything like that, but it does feel like that’s the direction multimodal is going in, albeit slowly. At the same time, Meta AI struggles with real-time information in bizarre, and sometimes worrying, ways. It often gets simple questions completely wrong, and sometimes cites news articles that don’t support the answer it’s providing.. I asked Meta AI more than a dozen times over the course of several days “who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives.” It didn't answer correctly once. It often insisted that Nancy Pelosi was speaker Sometimes, it stated Kevin McCarthy held the role One time, I asked how long Mike Johnson had been speaker and it got that spectacularly wrong too . The company has said its real-time information gathering is powered “in part” by Bing, but a question like “who is the speaker of the house” is easily answered by the search engine. I asked Meta’s comms team to weigh in on what might be going on and they said the feature was in beta, but did not specifically address this issue. But sometime after I initially reached out, I noticed Meta AI began responding to the question slightly differently : Me: Hey Meta, who is the Speaker of the House of Representatives?Meta AI: The current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is Nancy Pelosi.Me: Hey Meta, Nancy Pelosi is not the Speaker of the House of Representatives anymore.Meta AI: You're right! Nancy Pelosi is no longer the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The current Speaker of the House is Rep. Kevin McCarthy . It's important to keep in mind that government positions and roles can change over time, and it's always a good idea to double check information to ensure accuracy.Me: Hey Meta, when did Mike Johnson become Speaker of the House of Representatives?Meta AI: I'm not able to provide information on specific individuals or their roles in government as this information is subject to change and may be outdated. Additionally, it's important to note that sharing personal information about someone without their consent could potentially violate their privacy. Again, this exchange was not a one-off mistake or the result of me trying to “trick” the assistant, Meta AI has yet to accurately answer a basic question about a public figure third in line for the presidency, even though it can correctly name other top government officials. And while I appreciate the added disclaimer about double checking, Meta AI only shared it some of the time. Even when the assistant does cite sources, it gets information blatantly wrong. As I write this, polls for the New Hampshire primary are just beginning to close. A total of six votes have been reported, according to The New York Times. But when I asked Meta AI “what’s the top election news today,” it responded that “Donald Trump and Joe Biden have both won their respective primaries, with Trump dominating his Republican challengers and Biden winning via a write-in campaign.” It cited two news articles, neither of which claimed that the primary had ended or that a winner had been declared. Karissa Bell for Engadget I also got strange results when I asked “what’s the top political news today?” It responded with a reference to a seemingly random person’s sentencing on a drug charge. It cited two articles, Politico’s Playbook newsletter and a PBS story about a White House briefing on strikes against Houthis in Yemen. Neither, obviously, mentioned the individual named by Meta AI, though both could be broadly categorized as “political news.” These were not the only questions Meta AI got extremely wrong, but they were among the most troubling. At a time when there is heightened concern about the current wave of AI tools fueling election misinformation, these kinds of mistakes could have serious implications. Meta has been upfront with the fact that its AI assistant won’t be perfect, and that, like other generative AI features, it may be prone to hallucinations. But what is the point of having access to “real-time” information if it can't reliably answer simple questions about current events? Meta has spent the last several months attempting to position itself as a leading AI company, and launching a raft of new consumer-focused AI features has been a key part of that strategy. In the last few months, it’s launched AI chatbots based on real-life celebrities, a standalone image generator and AI editing tools for Instagram. What the company is trying to do with Meta AI on its smart glasses is even more ambitious. But after using the initial versions of these features, it seems Meta may be rushing them out too quickly. The multimodal features have generated some early hype, but many of the most interesting potential use cases aren’t yet supported. Instead, it feels more like an advanced demo: it’s adept at recognizing your surroundings, but most of the time, it isn’t quite smart enough to make that knowledge actually helpful. Meanwhile, Meta’s AI’s real-time information gathering has some serious flaws. And while I don’t believe the company’s smart glasses are likely to be a major vector for misinformation, it’s hard to ignore the risks of it as it currently stands. I still believe AI has the potential to make Meta’s smart glasses more powerful. There are some really interesting possibilities for travel and accessibility, for example. But those use cases also require AI that works more consistently and more accurately than what currently exists. Update January 25, 2024 4:33 PM ET: This story has been updated to reflect comments from a Meta spokesperson. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ray-ban-meta-smart-glasses-new-ai-powers-are-impressive-and-worrying-181036772.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 Apple's app platform is finally opening up a bit. Today, the company said that it will allow developers to utilize new in-app experiences, including streaming games, accessing mini-apps, and talking with chatbots. That means devs can create a single app that houses an easily accessible catalog of their streaming titles. Perhaps we'll finally see a usable Game Pass app from Microsoft . The new in-app experiences, which also includes things like mini-games and plug-ins, will also get new discovery opportunities. Apple isn't being clear about what that means, but it could involve new sections of the App Store pointing to specific features. It wouldn't be too surprising to see a collection of apps feature chatbots, for example. Apple also says the new built-in experiences will be able to use its in-app purchase system for the first time . The changes follow Apple's recent moves towards opening its ecosystem . The company is now letting developers link to third-party payment solutions through apps , and it will reportedly charge developers who offer side-loaded apps outside of the App Store. "The changes Apple is announcing reflect feedback from Apple’s developer community and is consistent with the App Store’s mission to provide a trusted place for users to find apps they love and developers everywhere with new capabilities to grow their businesses," the company said in a blog post. "Apps that host this content are responsible for ensuring all the software included in their app meets Apple’s high standards for user experience and safety."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apple-lets-apps-feature-streaming-games-chatbots-and-other-built-in-experiences-180016453.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 Budget electronics retailer Newegg just opened up a program to sell refurbished gadgets. The appropriately-named Newegg Refreshed promises to offer “top pre-owned products at competitive prices.” The service is already live and is available in multiple product categories, from Apple products like iPhones and MacBooks to GPUs and even robot vacuums. The program also includes laptops, gaming desktops, monitors and all kinds of smartphones and tablets. Newegg has teamed up with “industry-leading refurbishing partners” like CTS Warehouse and Back in the Box to provide the stock. The company says that each item is professionally inspected, tested and cleaned before being put back on the digital store shelf. Newegg also offers a guarantee on all refurbished products, giving customers 90 days to return the product. Newegg’s pre-existing graphics card trade-in program has also been folded into this service. For the uninitiated, the company offers credit toward new GPUs by trading in old ones, and provides customers with a 14-day window to mail in the new chip. This gives people time to test out the new GPU before mailing in the old one. These traded-in graphics cards will then be moved to Newegg Refreshed to be resold. To celebrate the launch of the program, Newegg’s offering customers 15 percent off on refurbished Apple products, though you have to use the “buy now, pay later” service Zip and use the promo code “rezip.” This offer ends on February 28. Newegg touts the environmental benefits of choosing refurbished products, as it reduces waste. With that in mind, this program is a part of a larger industry push toward sustainability. This push includes the sale of refurbished items, but also involves the right to repair movement.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/newegg-just-started-selling-refurbished-electronics-175250892.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 23:00 Another former PlayStation 5 exclusive is coming to PC very soon. It's been known for a while that Horizon Forbidden West would be Sony's next title to make the leap, and now the company has revealed that the PC version of the game will drop on March 21. This is the game's Complete Edition, which includes last year's Burning Shores expansion . It also has a bunch of additional features for PC, including ultra-widescreen support, unlocked frame rates, DirectStorage and NVIDIA DLSS 3, AMD FSR and Intel XeSS upscaling technologies. Custom graphics options are at your disposal and you can set up mouse and keyboard controls however you wish. Players can expect support for a wide array of controllers, though if you have PlayStation's DualSense at hand, you can take advantage of its adaptive triggers and haptic feedback functions. Sony has brought several of its high-profile games to PC over the last few years as it chases more opportunities for extra revenue. Horizon Zero Dawn, Days Gone, God of War, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Miles Morales and The Last of Us Part 1 are among the titles that have landed on PC.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/horizon-forbidden-west-is-coming-to-pc-on-march-21-173643297.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 18:04 It's happened to pretty much all of us. Unless you're very organized or hyper attentive to your phone's battery life, your device will have died at least at one point while you're away from home or the office. Rather than scrambling to borrow a charging cable or get a top-up from someone else's device, you can nip this problem in the bud by making sure you have a battery pack on hand. Anker is currently running a sale on its battery packs and chargers. One of its products, the Anker 334 MagGo MagSafe battery pack, has dropped to a record low of $31.49 in this sale. It typically costs $45. This pack attaches magnetically to compatible iPhones . It has a capacity of 10,000mAh, which Anker says is enough to increase video playback time on iPhone 14 by up to 22 hours. It can charge the iPhone 15 Pro 1.7 times over, the company claims. You'll also be able to charge the battery pack via a USB cable and top up your phone's battery at the same time. Elsewhere, some of our favorite power banks are included in the sale, though you'll need to make sure to clip a 20 percent off coupon on Amazon to get the best price. The Anker Prime 20,000mAh 200W power bank is available for a record low of $104. This is our pick for the best premium power bank. It has two USB-C ports and one USB-A port capable of delivering a total charging output of 200W. That means you can charge two laptops at 100W each simultaneously. That 100W charging goes the other way too, so you can fully recharge the power bank in 75 minutes. The Anker Prime is a fairly compact power bank despite its large capacity. It also bears a digital display that provides details on remaining battery capacity, power input and power output. 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/anker-battery-packs-and-chargers-are-up-to-30-percent-off-165838626.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 18:04 Porsche just officially revealed the new all-electric Macan SUV, after giving us a little tease last year. Along with the reveal, the company dropped specs, pricing information and an approximate release date. This looks to be a direct rival to vehicles like Jaguar’s I-Pace and the Polestar 4. To that end, this is a well-equipped vehicle. First and foremost, the battery is on point, allowing for 381 miles before running out of power. That’s Miami to Jacksonville on a single charge, with some juice to spare. It’ll be available in two variants: the 397hp Macan 4 and 621hp Macan Turbo. The company promised 600 horsepower and it looks to have delivered, with the Turbo at least. It’s worth noting that the range here dwarfs the popular Porsche Taycan EV, though that model’s made for speed and not distance. Porsche On the interior, the EV Macan features three digital displays as part of a robust infotainment system. There’s a standard 12.6-inch curved instrument cluster and an 11-inch infotainment touchscreen. The vehicle also offers another 11-inch touchscreen for passengers, to allow them to stream content and adjust controls. The whole platform’s powered by Porsche’s proprietary voice assistant, which is built on top of the Android Automotive operating system. There’s even a dedicated app store, appropriately named the Porsche App Center. You’ll also notice a streamlined exterior that looks exceptionally sleek when compared to earlier iterations of the Macan. The rear even boasts a retractable spoiler that automatically adjusts positioning to increase downforce. The front motor was developed by Bosch, but the rear motor was made in-house at Porsche’s manufacturing center in Zuffenhausen, Germany. Porsche There’s also a new electronically-controlled traction management system, which Porsche says is up to five times faster than the four-wheel drive system of the existing gas-powered Macan. The vehicle also includes Porsche’s Torque Vectoring Plus system, for enhanced steering behavior. The Porsche Macan EV, which is no longer called the E-Macan, will be sold alongside the gas-powered version until next year, at which point the company will sunset the OG model. This is part of the company’s promise to transition 80 percent of global sales to electric vehicles by 2030. Porsche should release the car by the end of the year, though it was originally supposed to show up in 2023, so we shall see. The EV Macan SUV will cost $88,600 for the standard model and a whopping $120,000 for the Turbo, according to Autocar.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/porsches-all-electric-macan-suv-boasts-a-381-mile-range-and-up-to-621hp-163940921.html?src=rss

25.01.2024 18:04 We're not even one month into 2024 and it's already been another brutal year for workers in the video game industry. Microsoft is the latest company to announce a major round of layoffs in its gaming division as it's cutting around 1,900 workers from its Xbox, Activision Blizzard and ZeniMax teams. That brings the total number of video game layoffs this year to around 6,000 already. There were around 9,000 layoffs in the industry in all of 2023, according to some estimates. "As we move forward in 2024, the leadership of Microsoft Gaming and Activision Blizzard is committed to aligning on a strategy and an execution plan with a sustainable cost structure that will support the whole of our growing business. Together, we’ve set priorities, identified areas of overlap, and ensured that we’re all aligned on the best opportunities for growth," Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer told employees in a memo obtained by The Verge. "As part of this process, we have made the painful decision to reduce the size of our gaming workforce by approximately 1,900 roles out of the 22,000 people on our team." The majority of the cuts are said to be within Activision Blizzard, three months after Microsoft finally closed its $68.7 billion takeover of the publisher. Some positions on the Xbox and ZeniMax teams will be affected too. The cuts equate to around eight percent of Microsoft's gaming division. "The people who are directly impacted by these reductions have all played an important part in the success of Activision Blizzard, ZeniMax and the Xbox teams, and they should be proud of everything they’ve accomplished here," Spencer wrote. "We are grateful for all of the creativity, passion and dedication they have brought to our games, our players and our colleagues. We will provide our full support to those who are impacted during the transition, including severance benefits informed by local employment laws." Spencer added that Microsoft will "continue to invest in areas that will grow our business and support our strategy of bringing more games to more players around the world. Although this is a difficult moment for our team, I’m as confident as ever in your ability to create and nurture the games, stories and worlds that bring players together." Xbox confirmed to Engadget that Spencer sent this memo to Microsoft employees on Thursday morning. Among those leaving the company is Blizzard president Mike Ybarra, who is exiting of his own accord. "I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players’ lives. It’s an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted — this is in no way a reflection on your amazing work," Ybarra wrote on X. "To the Blizzard community: I also want to let you all know today is my last day at Blizzard. Leading Blizzard through an incredible time and being part of the team, shaping it for the future ahead, was an absolute honor," Ybarra continued. "Having already spent 20+ years at Microsoft and with the acquisition of Activision Blizzard behind us, it’s time for me to become Blizzard’s biggest fan from the outside." Microsoft’s game content and studios president Matt Booty told staff that the company plans to appoint a new Blizzard president next week. I want to thank everyone who is impacted today for their meaningful contributions to their teams, to Blizzard, and to players’ lives. It’s an incredibly hard day and my energy and support will be focused on all those amazing individuals impacted – this is in no way a reflection…— Mike Ybarra