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Hybrid cars aren't just valuable for their fuel efficiency, apparently. Consumer Reports has published annual reliability survey data indicating that hybrids are generally more reliable than their gas-only equivalents. Hybrid cars were the most reliable among vehicle types, with their SUV siblings ranking third. Certain models were stand-outs, including the Ford Maverick pickup, Lexus NX luxury SUV and Toyota Corolla sedan — they all had above-average reliability on top of major fuel savings.

That trustworthiness doesn't always extend to other electrified cars. The publication found that plug-in hybrids aren't as reliable. Toyota's Prius Prime and RAV4 Prime are less reliable than their conventional hybrid versions, and the Chrysler Pacifica hybrid was one of the most unreliable vehicles in the survey. EVs continue to struggle, too. While there are some exceptions, such as the "outstanding" reliability of the Kia EV6, the category is still plagued with glitches — and not just Tesla's build quality issues. Ford's Mustang-Mach-E dipped to below average due to its electronics flaws. Only four out of 11 models with enough survey data had average or better reliability.

A straightforward hybrid isn't always the best choice, either. Consumer Reports warns that BMW, Mercedes, Ram and others offer "mild" hybrids that don't offer much in the way of fuel savings, and are sometimes focused more on adding power. These vehicles weren't included in the hybrid reliability rankings.

The greater reliability of hybrids isn't a total surprise. While they offer improved fuel economy, they're ultimately based on familiar model lines using well-established combustion engine technology. EVs are more likely to be brand new models based on young electric motor systems and don't have years of refinement.

Automakers will have to improve their safety tech if they want to stay in Consumer Reports' good graces, whatever powertrain they're using. As of November, the outlet will penalize models that don't include pedestrian-aware automatic emergency braking as a standard feature. CR will also stop handing out bonus points to vehicles that only have blind spot warnings (they'll need rear cross traffic warnings as well) and forward collision alerts. This will theoretically push car creators to strengthen their default safety packages and potentially save lives.

Last year, MIT developed an AI/ML algorithm capable of learning and adapting to new information while on the job, not just during its initial training phase. These “liquid” neural networks (in the Bruce Lee sense) literally play 4D chess — their models requiring time-series data to operate — which makes them ideal for use in time-sensitive tasks like pacemaker monitoring, weather forecasting, investment forecasting, or autonomous vehicle navigation. But, the problem is that data throughput has become a bottleneck, and scaling these systems has become prohibitively expensive, computationally speaking.

On Tuesday, MIT researchers announced that they have devised a solution to that restriction, not by widening the data pipeline but by solving a differential equation that has stumped mathematicians since 1907. Specifically, the team solved, “the differential equation behind the interaction of two neurons through synapses… to unlock a new type of fast and efficient artificial intelligence algorithms.”

“The new machine learning models we call ‘CfC’s’ [closed-form Continuous-time] replace the differential equation defining the computation of the neuron with a closed form approximation, preserving the beautiful properties of liquid networks without the need for numerical integration,” MIT professor and CSAIL Director Daniela Rus said in a Tuesday press statement. “CfC models are causal, compact, explainable, and efficient to train and predict. They open the way to trustworthy machine learning for safety-critical applications.”

So, for those of us without a doctorate in Really Hard Math, differential equations are formulas that can describe the state of a system at various discrete points or steps throughout the process. For example, if you have a robot arm moving from point A to B, you can use a differential equation to know where it is in between the two points in space at any given step within the process. However, solving these equations for every step quickly gets computationally expensive as well. MIT’s “closed form” solution end-arounds that issue by functionally modeling the entire description of a system in a single computational step. AS the MIT team explains:

Imagine if you have an end-to-end neural network that receives driving input from a camera mounted on a car. The network is trained to generate outputs, like the car's steering angle. In 2020, the team solved this by using liquid neural networks with 19 nodes, so 19 neurons plus a small perception module could drive a car. A differential equation describes each node of that system. With the closed-form solution, if you replace it inside this network, it would give you the exact behavior, as it’s a good approximation of the actual dynamics of the system. They can thus solve the problem with an even lower number of neurons, which means it would be faster and less computationally expensive.

By solving this equation at the neuron-level, the team is hopeful that they’ll be able to construct models of the human brain that measure in the millions of neural connections, something not possible today. The team also notes that this CfC model might be able to take the visual training it learned in one environment and apply it to a wholly new situation without additional work, what’s known as out-of-distribution generalization. That’s not something current-gen models can really do and would prove to be a significant step towards the generalized AI systems of tomorrow.

Budding beatmakers (or musicians looking to add to their toolset) might be interested in checking out Ableton's Black Friday deals. The company has slashed the price of its Live packages, the Push controller and sound packs by 20 percent. While that isn't quite as generous as the 25 percent discounts we've seen from Ableton in the past, the company doesn't often run sales. So, if you've been eyeing Live 11, one of the most popular digital workstations (DAWs) around, for a while, now might be the time to take the leap. You'll have some time to think about it, though, as the deals run through January 11th.

The base Live 11 Intro option is down from $99 to $79 for the time being. It has what you need to get started with the DAW, including more than 1,500 sounds, 21 audio effects and 11 MIDI effects.

If you're ready for something more full featured, consider the Live 11 Standard package, the price of which Ableton has lowered from $449 to $359. The bundle includes unlimited audio and MIDI tracks, as well as unlimited scenes and more than 1,800 sounds.

At the top end is the Live 11 Suite, which is down from $749 to $599. You'll get access to more than 5,000 sounds, along with more audio and MIDI effects and extra software instruments. Current Live users can get 20 percent off upgrades too.

Meanwhile, it's rare to see Ableton offering a discount on the Push controller, which has deep integration with Live. In fact, the company confirmed to Engadget this is the first time it has cut the price of the controller since 2016.

You'll be able to use Push to play and tweak samples, step sequence your creative ideas and record your creations. If you don't already own Live 11 but want to pick up Push, you'll need to buy them as a bundle. The Live Intro 11 and Push package costs $639 (down from $898). Live 11 and the controller will set you back $918 (was $1,248). As for the bundle of Live 11 Suite and Push, that will run you $1,118 (down from $1,548). Current Live owners will see their Push price after logging into their account, but based on the bundle prices, it should be around $560.

Ableton allows customers to spread the cost of Live or Push over six months at the discounted rate. Meanwhile, students and teachers can save up to 40 percent off the standard price.

Descript aims to simplify video editing by making it a matter of tweaking transcripts, but now you don't even need to have ready-made audio. The company has redesigned Descript with a new interface that includes a writing tool. You can write a script in Overdub on the fly and either use text-to-speech to vocalize your narration or replace it with your own recording later. This could mainly be helpful if your content doesn't have any spoken-word material, but it might also come in handy if you're not comfortable speaking.

The app as a whole now centers on "Scenes," or distinct visual segments (pictured above). You effectively treat moments in a video like you would slides in a presentation, with each getting its own overlays and titles. The concept is potentially easier to grasp than working with a conventional video editor's timeline. Accordingly, there are now templates with ready-made layouts, title sequences and social clips.

Other additions revolve more around features you might expect from established media editing tools. The Descript recorder is now built into the editor, with separate tracks for your screen and the camera. Color control lets you modify elements like exposure and white balance, while AI-powered chroma keying allows to remove backgrounds like you would using a green screen. And if you need a pre-made soundtrack or B-roll footage, you now have access to stock media from providers like Giphy, Storyblocks and Unsplash.

The new Descript is available now for Macs and Windows PCs. How much you'll pay depends on how you intend to use it. The tool is free for three hours of transcription and other core features, but you'll need to pay $12 per month for watermark-free video exports and 10 hours of transcription. Heavy-duty users will want to spend $24 per month to get unlimited Overdub, 30 hours of transcription per month and pro versions of tools like Audiograms and filler word removal.

As before, Descript makes the most sense if you're working with either dialogue-heavy videos or podcasts. You may still want to stick to a conventional timeline-based editor to produce the next great movie or TV show. However, the new version may be appealing if you need to produce a reasonably polished video in a hurry.

After announcing it would share ad revenue with Shorts creators earlier this year, YouTube is experimenting with new revenue streams for the service. The platform plans to introduce TikTok-like shopping features to Shorts, allowing users to shop directly for products promoted by influencers through links in videos, The Financial Times has reported. 

YouTube plans to roll out two separate schemes starting in 2023. The first is an affiliate marketing system that would pay a commission to select US-based creators who promote products. Meanwhile, users in the US, India, Brazil, Canada and Australia would be able to shop through Shorts via links. All of that in on top of the aforementioned system that will see creators take a 45 percent share of ad revenue starting early next year

"It is very much an endorsement model, versus a more traditional advertising model or a paid-placement model," YouTube Shopping's GM Michael Martin told the FT. "Our goal is to focus on the best monetization opportunities for creators in the market."

YouTube's Shorts channel, which recently got its own tab, now has 1.5 billion monthly users, surpassing the 1 billion users now on TikTok. Despite that success, though, Alphabet revealed in its last earnings report that YouTube ad sales revenue was down and missed expectations.

As such, YouTube is experimenting with new sources of revenue already being exploited by TikTok and Meta. However, the endorsement approach hasn't worked as well in the US as other countries, so YouTube plans to focus its direct shopping schemes in markets where it has worked, like South Korea. 

The Lucid Air is a fantastic first car from a new automaker. It’s also a very expensive EV out of the reach of most people. The company has promised less expensive versions of the Air and today those vehicles are finally being unveiled.

During the Los Angeles auto show, Lucid took the wraps off the Lucid Air Pure and Touring. The two vehicles might not hit 60 in under two seconds, but these are likely the trim levels that will dominate the automaker’s sales.

The Pure is the first and only Air to come in under $100,000 starting at a still pricey $87,400. It’s best to remember that the Air is still a luxury vehicle. While it won’t hit 500 miles between charges, it has an EPA target of 410 miles and can charge at 250kW on a compatible DC fast charger.

The Touring is slightly more expensive at $107,400 and can drive for an EPA estimated range of 425 miles.

While the Pure wasn’t quite ready for testing, we were able to get behind the wheel of the Touring for a quick jaunt around the Lucid headquarters. Watch the video below for the full story.

Sure, we all want NVIDIA's RTX 4090, but it's tough to stomach its $1,599 starting price (if you can even find it at that price) or its massive power demands. That leaves impatient PC gamers with only one other new NVIDIA option this year: the $1,199 RTX 4080 with 16GB of VRAM. While $400 isn't exactly a huge discount in the world of high-end PC gaming (certainly not as significant as the $899 12GB RTX 4080 that NVIDIA "unlaunched."), it may tempt some gamers.

After all, it's faster than the RTX 3080 Ti that launched at the same price earlier this year, and it works with NVIDIA's powerful new DLSS 3 upscaling technology (which is limited to 4000-series GPUs). If you can live without the bragging rights of having a 4090, the RTX 4080 is a powerful GPU that'll satisfy anyone who wants to game in 4K with ray tracing. For those stuck with lower resolution monitors, though, you're probably better off waiting for the eventual 4070 and 4060 cards, as well as AMD's upcoming RDNA 3 GPUs.

Surprisingly enough, the RTX 4080 Founders Edition we reviewed shares the exact same design as the 4090. They both take up three PCI-e slots, sport massive vapor chambers, and they retain the unique pass-through fan design from NVIDIA's previous GPUs. I was expecting something a bit smaller, to be honest. At least the 4080 only needs three 8-pin PSU cables to function, whereas the 4090 demands four. (Both cards can also be powered by a single PCIe 5.0 PSU cable, but those power supplies are pretty rare at the moment.)

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

The 4080's power cables also hint at one of its major advantages: It has a 320-watt thermal design profile (TDP) and requires a 750W PSU, whereas the 4090 has a far more demanding 450W TDP. Unless you already have an 850W power supply, upgrading to the 4090 may involve getting a new unit and rewiring power throughout your entire system. These cards won't always use their maximum power loads, but you'll still need to be ready for the rare moments when they need more juice.

While it may look just like the 4090, the RTX 4080 is a dramatically different beast under the hood. It's powered by 9,728 CUDA cores, 16GB of GDDR6X VRAM and offers a base clock speed of 2.21GHz (with boost speeds to 2.51GHz). The 4090, on the other hand, has 16,384 CUDA cores, slightly higher clock speeds and a whopping 24GB of VRAM. Compared to the 3080 Ti, the 4080 wins out with NVIDIA's new Ada Lovelace architecture, significantly faster speeds and 4GB more VRAM. (The 3080 Ti technically has around 500 more CUDA cores, but they're also inherently slower and less efficient than NVIDIA's new platform.)

So what do these numbers mean in practice? The RTX 4080 scored around 3,500 fewer points in 3DMark's TimeSpy Extreme benchmark compared to the 4090. But if that more powerful card didn't exist, the 4080 would be the most capable GPU we've ever reviewed. Its TimeSpy Extreme score was about 50 percent higher than the 3080 Ti, and it reached a comfortable 130fps while playing Halo Infinite in 4K with all of its graphics settings maxed out. Seeing Cyberpunk 2077 hit 74fps in 4K with ultra ray tracing settings (and the help of DLSS 3) nearly brought a tear to my eye.

A word on DLSS 3: It's NVIDIA's latest AI solution that can take lower-quality imagery and upscale it to higher resolutions. But in addition to intelligently sharpening edges and upgrading textures, DLSS 3 can also inject interpolated frames to smooth out 4K gameplay. While I can occasionally spot issues with particularly low quality DLSS upscaling, I didn't notice any unusual framerate hiccups while testing Cyberpunk and A Plague Tale: Requiem with the technology enabled.

The only real downside to the RTX 4080 is that I can't help but compare it to the 4090. That same Cyberpunk ray tracing benchmark was almost twice as fast on the 4090, reaching an eye-watering 135 fps. It also hit a 40-fps-higher average framerate in the 3DMark Port Royal ray tracing benchmark. Still, these are the sorts of gains only the most dedicated gamers will notice, the exact market for the 4090. When it comes to actual 4K gameplay, even with ray tracing in demanding games like Control, I never felt held back by the RTX 4080.

Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

And if you're looking for more performance, overclocking is always an option. I didn't have a chance to do so myself, but the 4080's thermal performance makes me think there's plenty of room for pushing things harder. It never climbed beyond 61 celsius during my testing, around 10 degrees cooler than the 4090. That's a testament to NVIDIA's excellent cooling setup (and perhaps partially due to my office being slightly cooler this month).

The real question: Is it worth settling for the 4080 if there's a chance you'll actually be able to buy the 4090 for $1,599? At the moment, most online retailers are selling 4090 cards for well above $2,000. It sounds crazy to say it, but the $1,199 card seems like a steal with that gulf. But, of course, who knows how long you'll be able to find the RTX 4080 at its launch price. It likely won't be too long before it creeps towards the 4090's higher tag.

And if paying more than $1,000 for a video card seems insane to you — and let's be clear, it should — sit tight to see what NVIDIA's future cards look like. We're definitely expecting RTX 4070, 4060 and 4050 cards eventually, but the the question is when. (Also, what the heck will NVIDIA do with its planned $899 4080 GPU? Does that become the 4070?) AMD's flagship RDNA 3 GPUs will launch below $1,000, and at the entry level, Intel's new Arc GPUs are surprisingly compelling.

All in all, the RTX 4080 is exactly what I'd want from an RTX 3080 Ti successor. It's faster and has plenty of new features to make it a demonstrable leap from the previous cards. I'm not saying you should be upgrading your 3080 anytime soon, but if you somehow stumble onto $1,199, I wouldn't blame you for being tempted by the 4080.

If you're itching for a new pair of AirPods but have strict holiday-shopping budget to stick to, you're in luck. You can pick up the second-generation AirPods for only $90 right now at Amazon, which is 43 percent off their normal price. While we did see them $10 cheaper during Amazon's October Prime Day, this remains a great sale price that doesn't come around very often.

These buds are a bit old at this point, but any AirPods are hard to beat if you live within the Apple ecosystem. The second-gen buds pair almost instantly with your iPhone during setup, and then they'll switch seamlessly between other Apple devices as you use them. That means you can go from taking a call on your iPhone to listening to music from your MacBook without any hiccups. Apple's H1 chip inside the AirPods also enables hands-free Siri access, allowing you to call upon the virtual assistant to answer questions, send messages and do other tasks without touching your AirPods at all.

Unlike the AirPods Pro, the standard AirPods have a fit that's akin to Apple's old-school EarPods, so if you always liked those that used to come with new iPhones, you'll probably like the fit of these buds, too. Sound quality is decent and wireless connectivity has been improved since the original versions of the buds. As far as battery life goes, you'll get five hours of listening time on a single charge, and a total of 24 hours of use when you employ the charging case that comes with the buds. Just keep in mind that these AirPods do not come with a wireless charging case, so you'll have to power them up with a Lightning cable.

The most compelling reason to pick up the second-gen AirPods is their sale price. They're the cheapest Apple earbuds you can get right now — but if you're willing to spend a bit more, you'll get a lot more in return. Apple's third-gen AirPods are currently on sale for $160, and they provide much better audio quality, Adaptive EQ, spatial audio, six hours of battery life on a single charge and up to 30 hours of use overall. And if you want active noise cancellation, a more custom fit and a wireless charging case, you'll have to spring for the AirPods Pro, which are currently on sale for $230.

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribing to the Engadget Deals newsletter.

Back in September, CD Projekt Redc (CDPR) announced that it's going to release an expansion for Cyberpunk 2077 entitled Phantom Liberty that would add characters and a new location to the game. Now, the developer has confirmed that you'll have to pay for the DLC when it drops and if you want to see what's new in Night City. CDPR's global PR director Radek Grabowski told GamesRadar+: "As for the expansion's pricing — we have not revealed exact details yet, but it will be a paid one." Grabowski also told the publication that the developer's expansions are "traditionally cheaper than full-price games." To note, Cyberpunk 2077 cost $60 when it launched. 

Phantom Liberty will be a spy thriller and will involve espionage work for the New United States of America. It will star the game's main protagonist V and Johnny Silverhand, the popular Cyberpunk 2077 character played by Keanu Reeves. When it first announced the DLC, CDPR said that it was only going to be released for the Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 5 and PC. It will skip the PS4 and the Xbox One altogether, which perhaps isn't surprising, considering the issues the developer faced upon the main game's release. 

If you'll recall, the game's launch was marred by bugs and glitches — some even prevented players from completing quests and moving forward. Its performance was especially poor on older-generation consoles, prompting the developer to issue a statement that promised to roll out fixes that would make the game playable. The issues were so bad, Sony Interactive Entertainment pulled the game from the PlayStation Store and offered refunds to anybody who asked for one. That said, Cyberpunk 2077 was able to get past its buggy launch, thanks to CDPR rolling out a stream of patches, as well as to the release of a Netflix anime. In October, the developer announced that it's going to work on a sequel to the game codenamed "Orion," which will "further develop the potential" of the sci-fi franchise.

One of the most noteworthy updates Apple brought to the iPhone 14 series this year is Emergency SOS via satellite. It lets you send text messages to emergency services over satellite if you're in need of help and outside of cellular coverage. The company hopes you don't need to use the service, but in case you find yourself hurt and needing rescue in the wilderness, it can be frustrating if you're unfamiliar with a tool you were expecting to be helpful. Today, Apple is rolling out a demo mode of Emergency SOS via Satellite so members of the public can see how it works.

After updating your iPhone 14 (or 14 Plus or 14 Pro or 14 Pro Max), you'll need to navigate to the Emergency SOS section of Settings to find the Demo. It's worth checking this out since not many people will know what to expect nor that the first step is to dial 911, instead of looking for an app. If you're using demo mode, you won't be connected to a real emergency services agent or relay center — the company's system will navigate demo users to a server that sends canned responses. This prevents people from overloading actual call centers.

In addition to a controlled preview at Apple's campus earlier this year, I also tried the satellite communications feature for myself at a special demo last week in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Using iPhones that Apple tweaked to disable cellular services, I was able to locate and connect to passing satellites and experience how long it would take to have a text conversation with an agent. Not only was it insightful to get a sense for how much slower satellite transmissions took compared to cellular, I also learned how best to concisely convey information about my situation in as few words as possible.

Apple doesn't recommend that you try this yourself (i.e. find a place without any cellular coverage just to see what the experience is like). Instead, if you're curious about the interface and how this works, that's what this demo mode is for.

Emergency SOS via Satellite and the demo mode both roll out today in the US and Canada. Apple is also announcing that it's expanding the service to France, Germany, Ireland and the UK in December.