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Anglo-American EV startup Arrival is putting its groundbreaking bus and car projects on ice as it struggles to manage its cash reserves. The Financial Times reports that the company, which said it would lay off a third of its staff last month, would now focus on completing its delivery van. Arrival said that it had anything up to 20,000 orders with UPS for the vehicle, and is expecting to get the first models out of the door later this year. That will hopefully reduce the pressure on the company’s bottom line, and boost its share price, which has fallen 90 percent since it went public via a SPAC last year.

The company was unable to comment to Engadget about the FT’s report, as it is preparing to release its financial results this week.

Arrival actually started with its electric bus project, and has already built several models ready for real-world testing. Its car, designed to be sold to ride-share drivers, was at the prototype stage (I saw it first hand last December), and the company had recruited Tom Elvidge from Uber to run the program. The FT’s report says that both projects are in stasis for now, and are likely to be revived as soon as Arrival begins making money. The car project may, however, find itself squeezed by the looming recession and that so much VC money, which was dumped into transportation startups like Uber, has now dried up, leading to a wave of closures.

The biggest tragedy from all of this is that Arrival’s focus on revolutionizing public buses was a genuinely different approach from most EV makers. Buses are a fixture in pretty much every city, and while it’s always better for the environment to use one over a car, making them even cleaner was a great plan. That the public project has been iced in favor of the fleet of logistics vans is not surprising, but it’s certainly not a great sign for the future of public transport.

Last month, MG revealed the all-electric MG4 hatchback with range of up to 281 miles (on the WLTP system). Now, we know it will be one of the least expensive EVs available in the UK with a starting price of £25,995 ($31,400). It's set to arrive in the UK in September this year.

As a reminder, China's SAIC Motors now owns the MG brand following the collapse of MG Rover in 2005. The vehicles are manufactured in China, but SAIC has a design studio in London. It also has joint venture partnerships with Volkswagen, GM and others to produce branded vehicles in China.

The MG4 first arrived as the Mulan in China, built on SAIC's MSP (Modular Scalable Platform) architecture that will be used on future MG EVs. It'll come in three versions in the UK. The starting SE Standard Range model is priced at £25,995 with a 51kWh battery delivering 218 miles of WLTP range, compared to £36,195 ($43,800) for the ID.3 with a 58kWh battery and 265 miles of range.

The £28,495 ($34,490) Long Range SE model uses a 64kWh battery to go 281 miles on a charge, which takes about 35 minutes to go from 10-80 percent thanks to the 135kW charging capacity. 

And finally, the EV Trophy costs £31,495 ($38,120) and offers 270 miles of range with the 64kWh battery. The extra cash gets you features like an upgraded version of the MG Pilot system (with lane-keeping, blind spot warnings, etc.), a leather interior and more.

As for performance, the highest-powered 201 bhp version with the 64kWh battery can go from 0-62 MPH in under eight seconds, with the top speed limited to 99 MPH. On all vehicles, MG is promising copious storage, an "Active Grille Shutter" that improves aerodynamics, a 10.25-inch infotainment screen, Car Play and Android Auto connectivity and more. However, the price will likely be the main draw, particularly as the UK recently eliminated its EV rebate incentive.

Activision and Infinity Ward are set to reveal Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II's multiplayer mode along with other details at the Next showcase event on September 15th. They also announced that the early access beta will start rolling out on September 16 and 17 on PlayStation consoles and arrive in an open crossplay beta to all consoles and PCs starting September 24th.

As shown below, you'll need to pre-order to get the open and early access beta releases, with PlayStation owners getting first dibs. After the early access, PlayStation 4 and 5 users will get the open beta from September 18-20, and then Xbox and PC will get early access (crossplay beta) from September 22-23, with PlayStation getting the open crossplay beta on the same dates. Finally, the open beta (crossplay) will be available on all platforms from September 24-26.

Infinity Ward

Along with the multiplayer mode, Infinity Ward said it would show "the imminent future of [what] Call of Duty will look like, including many more details regarding Modern Warfare II, information on the next Call of Duty: Warzone, and more on the mobile version of Call of Duty: Warzone (also known as Project Aurora)." It also promised you'd see YouTubers streamers playing the games in real time, along with surprise information. 

If you haven't pre-ordered, you may still be able to get a beta code for early access from various streamers and YouTubers. Modern Warfare II is the successor to 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, based on the original Modern Warfare subseries launched in 2007. The new title is set to arrive on October 28th and cost $70 across all platforms. 

Samsung has launched its Android 13-flavored One UI 5 OS in beta for Galaxy S22 smartphones, the company announced. Much like Android 13 itself, most of the changes are minor, with some cosmetic improvements along with enhancements for security, notifications, the camera and more. However, Android 13 may offer significant improvements for foldable phones like the Galaxy Fold 4 set to arrive at Samsung's August 10th Unpacked event. 

One UI 5 takes advantage of Android 13's theme makeover with 12 new color options for the home screen, icons and quick panels. It also lets you save a bit of space by stacking widgets, while adding accessibility options like a Magnifier tool to zoom in on texts and objects. It also adds a system that can read your keyboard entry out loud. 

Samsung

You'll also see Android 13 updates like new notification settings that require apps to request permission before sending notifications. A new security dashboard can check perform a security and privacy check, and you'll be able to setting your preferred language on an app-by-app basis. 

Android 13's foldable enhancements appear designed for devices like the Fold 3 that have different sizes, resolutions and pixel densities on the inner and outer displays. Samsung already offers that feature for the Fold 3, but native Android 13 support might open up more options like enhanced productivity tools.

We'll find out more in a few days at Unpacked, set for August 10th at 9am ET. Meanwhile, if you live in the US, South Korea or German and have a Galaxy S22, you can try out the One UI 5 update using the Samsung Members app — just bear in mind the usual risks of using beta software.

Baidu has obtained permits to run a fully driverless robotaxi service in China. It says it's the first company in the country to obtain such permissions. Back in April, Baidu received approval to run an autonomous taxi service in Beijing, as long as there was a human operator in the driver or front passenger seat. Now, it will be able to offer a service where the car's only occupants are passengers.

There are some limits to the permits. Driverless Apollo Go vehicles will ferry paying passengers around designated zones in Wuhan and Chongqing during daytime hours only. The service areas cover 13 square kilometers in Wuhan's Economic & Technological Development Zone (WHDZ) and 30 square kilometers in Chongqing’s Yongchuan District. The WHDZ has been overhauled over the last year to support AV testing and operations.

Baidu says its robotaxis have multiple safety measures to back up the core autonomous driving functions. Those include monitoring redundancy, remote driving capability and a safety operation system.

This is a notable step forward for Baidu as it looks to offer robotaxi services at a large scale. The company has also been testing its vehicles in the US for several years and it could ultimately prove a competitor to the likes of Waymo and Cruise.

LG has launched its Tone Free wireless earbud lineup for 2022, and the new flagship model comes with built-in equalizer and support for Dolby's Head Tracking technology. Similar to Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro, which also has Dolby's 360 audio feature, the T90 has the capability to recalibrate sounds as you move your head to make it appear as if they're truly coming from all around you. LG says the T90s are also the first earbuds to feature an audio virtualizer that Dolby designed for the form factor in order to expand its "spatial dimensionality" for a more immersive experience. 

The company's other new Tone Free model is its first fitness-focused earbuds called the Tone Free Fit or TF8, which were designed with a secure fit to keep them in place so they don't fall out in the middle of workout sessions. This model can last for up to 10 hours without its hybrid Active Noise Cancellation switched on, while the T90 can last for up to nine hours so long as its adaptive ANC is not in use. 

Both models' charging cases come with a feature that kills 99.9 percent of bacteria on the earbuds using UV-C light. Plus, the T90's charging case doubles as a Bluetooth transmitter that lets you add wireless connectivity to source devices that don't it. If you have sensitive skin or get an allergic reaction to most earbuds, it's worth noting that the T90s have medical-grade, hypoallergenic ear gels, as well.

LG Tone Free T90

LG has yet to reveal how much the new earbuds cost, but they will be available in the US starting in September. 

After more than a year of infighting, President Joe Biden’s climate agenda has cleared a significant hurdle. On Sunday, Senate Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 in a 51-50 decision that went along party lines and saw Vice President Kamala Harris cast the tie-breaking vote, reports The Washington Post. If passed by the House, the 755-page bill would authorize the single largest expenditure to combat climate change in the nation’s history. In all, the legislation calls for $370 billion in spending to reduce US greenhouse emissions by approximately 40 percent by the end of this decade.

Among the climate change provisions most likely to affect consumers is a reworked federal EV tax credit. The Inflation Reduction Act would provide up to $7,500 in subsidies for electric SUVs, trucks and vans that cost less than $80,000 and cars under $55,000. It would also allow people to claim up to $4,000 when buying a used EV. In both cases, an income ceiling would prevent those who make more than the average American from taking advantage of the legislation.

On top of EV subsidies, the $370 billion in investments set aside by the bill would incentivize the building of wind, solar and other renewable power sources. The act also calls for the creation of a $1.5 billion program that would pay companies that reduce their methane output.

With Sunday’s vote, the Inflation Reduction Act now moves to the House, which will return from its summer recess on Friday. For much of 2021 and the first half of 2022, President Biden’s Build Back Better plan looked doomed to go nowhere due to opposition from Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. In late July, however, Manchin and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced they had come to a compromise. 

In exchange for his support, the Inflation Reduction Act includes a provision that would see the federal government reinstate canceled oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska's Cook Inlet. While that concession upset environmentalists, it’s not expected to undo the good the Inflation Reduction Act is poised to do for the environment. According to one estimate by Princeton University’s Zero Lab, the bill could reduce US greenhouse emissions by about 6.3 billion tons through 2032.

Apple has reportedly warned Taiwanese suppliers to ensure shipments to China comply with a longstanding labeling regulation following House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent visit to Taipei. According to Nikkei (via The Guardian), the company recently told manufacturers on the island that parts bound for the mainland must list “Chinese Taipei” or “Taiwan, China” as their source. 

That’s in line with a policy China has had in place for years but only began enforcing after tensions with the US flared up following Pelosi’s visit last week. Under the policy, officials can delay and even reject shipments that say “Made in Taiwan.” The self-governing island has its own set of labeling rules. Shipments must list “Taiwan” or “Republic of China” as the point of origin.

Apple did not immediately respond to Engadget’s request for comment. The tech giant and many other American companies have a complicated relationship with China. If the report is accurate, it wouldn’t be the first time Apple has sought to appease the Chinese Communist Party. In 2019, the company removed the Taiwan flag emoji from iOS in Hong Kong amid the pro-democracy protests that occurred in the city that year. 

In this instance, Apple may have felt it had no choice but to comply with China’s policy on Taiwanese shipments. In April, Tim Cook said semiconductor shortages significantly impacted the company’s iPad business. Ahead of its iPhone 14 launch later this year, additional delays due to a customs dispute would likely be disastrous for Apple.

Twitter has confirmed a vulnerability in its code led to a data exposure late last year. In a blog post published on Friday, the company said a malicious actor took advantage of a zero-day flaw before it became aware of and patched the issue in January 2022. The vulnerability was discovered by a security researcher who contacted Twitter through the company’s bug bounty program.

When Twitter first learned of the flaw, it said it had “no evidence” to suggest it had been exploited. However, an individual told Bleeping Computer last month that they took advantage of the vulnerability to obtain data on more than 5.4 million accounts. Twitter said it could not confirm how many users were affected by the exposure. The vulnerability allowed the bad actor to determine whether an email address or phone number was tied to an existing Twitter account. In turn, they could use that information to determine the identity of an account’s owner.

“We are publishing this update because we aren’t able to confirm every account that was potentially impacted, and are particularly mindful of people with pseudonymous accounts who can be targeted by state or other actors,” Twitter said. “If you operate a pseudonymous Twitter account, we understand the risks an incident like this can introduce and deeply regret that this happened.”

Twitter said it would directly notify every account owner it could confirm was affected by the exposure. For users trying to keep their identity hidden, the company recommends not adding a publicly known phone number or email address to an account. It also suggests adding two-factor authentication.

Apple could significantly expand its smart home product line within the next two years, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. In his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman reports the company has “at least four new smart home devices in its labs.”

Included in that list is the new HomePod model Gurman first wrote about back in June, in addition to a refreshed HomePod mini. The former will reportedly look and sound like the original 2018 model. Apple discontinued the HomePod in 2021 without announcing a direct replacement. The two other devices represent entirely new products for the company.

According to Gurman, one is a kitchen accessory that combines an iPad with a speaker. Meanwhile, the other reportedly brings together the functionality of an Apple TV, camera and HomePod into a living room device. He says Apple could release one of those two products by the end of next year or early 2024 but warns that “not all will see the light of the day.” 

A kitchen device would see Apple competing more closely with Amazon and Google. The two are most closely associated with the smart display category thanks to releases like the Nest Hub and Echo Show 15. It would be interesting to see what Apple thinks it can bring to the field since most smart displays don’t feel essential.