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Google has killed a project internally known as "Iris" that it established to build augmented reality glasses, according to Business Insider. The tech giant worked on the glasses' development for several years, but it reportedly shelved Iris following waves of layoffs and company reshuffles over the past few months. Another event that factored into Google's decision was the departure of Clay Bavor, the company's former chief of augmented and virtual reality, to form a startup with Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor. In addition, Google reportedly kept changing its strategy for the Iris glasses, which became a source of frustration for team members working on the project. 

When The Verge reported about the Iris augmented reality glasses in early 2022, it said that Google could launch the device in 2024. The Iris AR glasses were supposed to look like a pair of ordinary glasses. and an early version reportedly resembled a product called "Focals" by North, a Canadian startup that Google had acquired in 2020. Google also demoed a newer version in a video showing a real-time AR translation feature. 

While the company has stopped working on its own AR hardware, Business Insider says it still very much has big augmented reality ambitions. Instead of building its own hardware, Google has apparently chosen to focus on creating an "Android for AR" instead. The company is reportedly hoping to adopt the same business model it's using for its mobile platform and license its AR software to manufacturers. At the moment, Google is busy developing Android XR for Samsung's "extended reality" wearable devices and, according to Insider, on a new platform called "micro XR" for glasses. 

Nintendo has a bad reputation for its online infrastructure, often being ridiculed for lagging behind in adopting the latest technologies or features (such as requiring a smartphone for voice chat). This includes transitioning user data between your old console and a new one. Fortunately, it sounds like Nintendo is at least looking into making that easier before the launch of its next console.

In a shareholder meeting late last week, when asked if your Nintendo Switch purchases would carry over to future game consoles, President and CEO Shuntaro Furukawa says (via Google Translate), “In the transition from Nintendo Switch to the next-generation console, we would like to make every effort to ensure that customers can make the transition smoothly while using their Nintendo account.” This seems to imply that Nintendo is at least looking into possibly allowing current Nintendo Switch titles purchased through the eShop to be carried over to whatever comes next. Of course, Nintendo doesn’t make comments about future hardware that hasn’t been announced yet, so take this with a grain of salt.

As a reminder, previous-generation Nintendo Wii U games did not carry over to the Switch. This is in stark contrast to Sony and Microsoft, where most last-generation console games work on new consoles. And unlike Microsoft and Sony, Nintendo likes to spice up its controller design with virtually every new console. So sometimes it’s impossible to make a game work on both the new and old console generation.

At the very least, Nintendo is considering making improvements for its future console. It’s always been a major disappointment, especially for digital game buyers, that previously-owned titles did not carry over to the new console. It’s especially infuriating when the PlayStation 5 can play most PlayStation 4 titles, and Xbox Series S and X can play most Xbox One titles and in some cases Xbox 360 titles. And in Microsoft’s case, the company lets you carry over certain physical titles as well. So, Nintendo has a few options on the table for carrying over existing games. Regardless of what Nintendo’s next console is like, hopefully it’ll work with all the Switch games people have amassed over the years.

Stitcher is shutting down. The popular podcasting app and web service, which SiriusXM acquired in 2020 for $325 million, will close on August 29th, according to an FAQ on its website (viaVariety). The move appears geared toward drawing its user base into the broader SiriusXM platform.

“SiriusXM, the owner of Stitcher, is focused on incorporating podcasts into its flagship SiriusXM subscription business,” the closure note reads. “Subscribers can listen to podcasts within the SiriusXM app and will see an all-new listening experience later this year.” The notice added that Stitcher Studios and its Earwolf comedy network would continue making podcasts. Although Stitcher says its premium content may continue elsewhere, it adds that “hosts/creators will determine availability and accessibility of their shows.” The company recommends following your favorite podcast creators on social media to learn the fate of individual shows.

The platform has been a popular destination for exclusive and cross-platform podcasts. Stitcher’s original podcasts include Freakonomics Radio, The Video Archives Podcast with Quentin Tarantino and Roger Avary, LeVar Burton Reads and Science Rules! With Bill Nye (among others). The app is known for its user-friendly navigation, wide-spanning library and discovery recommendations.

The company began as a startup, focused on its listening app, in 2008. Deezer bought it in 2014 and sold it to Midroll Media two years later. Finally, Parent company E.W. Scripps Company then sold it to SiriusXM in 2020 — only for the satellite radio provider to shutter it later this summer.

Stitcher turned off automatic renewal for paid subscriptions today and detailed the refund process for premium customers. Those with existing subscriptions won’t need to take any action to cancel. Meanwhile, people with annual subscriptions scheduled to renew after August 29th will receive a prorated refund for the unused portion of the paid year. (You can read the full terms here.)

It's not just US manufacturers adopting Tesla's EV charging technology. Volvo has confirmed that its electric cars in the US, Canada and Mexico will use Tesla's North American Charging Standard (NACS) port. Current and recently announced cars (such as the C40 Recharge, EX30 and EX90) will connect to Supercharger stations through an adapter starting in the first half of 2024, while models from 2025 onward will have NACS built-in. An adapter will be available to connect those upcoming EVs using the Combined Charging System (CCS) format.

Volvo isn't shy about its reasoning. It wants drivers to have access to an "easy and convenient" charging network, and that means Tesla Superchargers. The company claims the deal will give owners access to 12,000 more fast charging locations. The Volvo Cars app will help users find and pay for stations.

The move makes Volvo the first European marque to use Tesla's port. It joins American brands that have made the leap, including Ford, GM and Rivian. Those companies are also promising adapters for current designs followed by native NACS ports.

Tesla opened up NACS in late 2022, making the technology available to any company that wanted to use it. At the time, it hoped charging networks like Chargepoint and Electrify America would support the system. While that has yet to materialize, NACS is quickly gaining support beyond just automakers. Texas will require Tesla's connector on state-funded charging stations, and SAE International is working on a standardized version of the plug.

Other car giants are uncertain about using Tesla's tech. Stellantis (owner of Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Fiat and other brands) toldReuters it's "evaluating" NACS, while Hyundai is also considering adoption. A switch isn't necessarily easy. Makers like Hyundai and Porsche have 800-volt architectures that allow faster charging than existing Superchargers, and they'd either have to press Tesla for upgraded technology or accept less-than-ideal charging rates. Still, there's clearly mounting pressure to embrace Tesla's format.

Hit video game Among Us is getting the cartoon treatment, as originally reported by Variety. CBS Studios is behind the venture, partnering up with Innersloth, the game studio originally responsible for the indie sensation. There looks to be plenty of talent behind the scenes here, as the showrunner is Owen Dennis, the creator of the criminally-underrated Infinity Train. Titmouse Studios is handling the animation, after successful work on shows like Star Trek: Lower Decks and Bigmouth.

If you are at all familiar with the game, the series description will seem like deja vu. The show will feature the crew of a spacecraft as they are murdered and replaced by an alien shapeshifter in an attempt to sabotage the ship and cause mass confusion. In other words, it’s the game, only with professional voice actors instead of your friends and family.

There’s no voice cast yet, or even some simple still shots of the animation. There hasn’t even been a streaming platform or network announced to house the cartoon, but with CBS Studios bankrolling, Paramount+ is a good bet. Though, Paramount+ has been doing that thing modern streamers do where they not only cancel shows but immediately delete them, so who knows.

Should you be excited for this animated series? Creator Owen Dennis cut his teeth on the critically acclaimed Cartoon Network series Regular Show before moving onto the absolutely stellar Infinity Train. Dennis served as showrunner throughout all four seasons of Infinity Train before it was, you’ll never guess, canceled and then completely erased by Max. There’s no official DVDs or Blu-Rays, but you can purchase the episodes digitally via Amazon and Apple to see what all the fuss is about.

In the meantime, the Among Us series has no release date, though the show is covered by The Animation Guild and not the WGA, so work should be able to proceed without crossing picket lines.

Apple is borrowing a marketing tactic from Twitter pirates. The company made the unusual move of uploading the entire first episode of its series Silo to the social platform, allowing anyone there to watch the opening installment for free. The gambit follows Twitter’s move to allow longer video uploads for subscribers. The free episode may be worth checking out: Engadget found the Apple TV+ original series to be “simply transcendent sci-fi TV.”

Silo is based on the science fiction novel Wool by American author Hugh Howey. It takes place on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth, where what remains of humanity is confined to the Silo, a 144-story underground bunker that serves as a self-sufficient underground community. The citizens are told that the world outside the Silo is perilous, but questions arise about what truly lies beyond. It’s a clever premise that allows showrunner Graham Yost to explore the book’s themes about truth vs. fiction and information as power. Apple has reportedly renewed the series for a second season.

Rebecca Ferguson (Dune) stars as Juliette Nichols, an engineer who uncovers a web of secrets after her lover, George (Ferdinand Kingsley), is murdered. The series also stars Rashida Jones, David Oyelowo, Common, Tim Robbins and Harriet Walter.

Episodes one through nine of Silo are available to stream now on Apple TV+. The season finale (titled “Outside”) premieres this Friday.

Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) is one step closer to becoming the de-facto electric vehicle charging system in the US. On Tuesday, SAE International, one of the automotive industry’s most important standards bodies, shared it is working to support the plug, a move that will make it easier for manufacturers to add NACS connectors to their vehicles and charging stations.

“Standardizing the NACS connector will provide certainty, expanded choice, reliability and convenience to manufacturers and suppliers and, most of all, increase access to charging for consumers,” the SAE said in a statement. According to the organization, the US Joint Office of Energy and Transportation helped bring together Tesla and the SAE. The association says it will create a standardized NACS connector on an “expedited timeframe,” all in hopes of improving the country’s charging infrastructure that much faster.

As The Verge points out, the announcement comes on the same day that ChargePoint said customers could begin ordering charging stations with NACS connectors. Starting later this year, the company will offer the port as an option on its home AC charging systems. More broadly, the last month has seen Ford, General Motors and Rivian all announce they plan to adopt NACS. In turn, that has pushed states like Texas to mandate government-funded EV charging stations feature Tesla’s connector. With the momentum behind NACS growing, holdouts like Electrify America may reconsider their stance on the connector.

In-ear monitors (IEMs) are normally aimed at musicians and audio engineers who want to block the outside world, but Razer is betting it can expand that audience. It's introducing its first in-ear monitor, the Moray, with gamers and "marathon streamers" in mind. The company claims its wired, THX-certified dual-driver earpieces deliver clear treble and deep bass, with passive noise reduction up to -36dB.

Comfort is just as much of a focus, however — the ergonomic design and braided cables are meant to stay snugly in place for hours. You can play or broadcast all day while keeping distractions to a minimum, Razer argues. Accordingly, there are three different ear tip varieties (each with three different sizes) to optimize the fit.

The Moray is available now through Razer and resellers for $130. At that price, it's clearly not meant to compete with higher-end IEMs from the likes of Audio Technica, Sennheiser or Shure. Many of those have three or more drivers per ear, and some include special wireless kits, detachable cables or other luxuries. You wouldn't want to use this for concerts or album production. There's no built-in microphone, either, so you'll need your own dedicated mic for streaming.

However, that's not necessarily the point. An IEM by its nature doesn't weigh down on your head (or cover your ears) like conventional headphones, and it should fit more reliably than your typical earbuds. This might do the trick if you're determined to minimize breaks and other interruptions.

Back in 2021, Japanese investment giant SoftBank led a little-known social media app called IRL to unicorn status and an overall valuation of $1.17 billion by investing over $170 million. Well, it turned out that the app completely made up its user numbers, admitting that 95 percent of its purported 20 million user base was fake, as originally reported by The Information.

At the time, SoftBank called the app “an innovative event-based social network” that enables “people to do more together.” However, the firm didn’t know that there were no actual people doing more together. There were no people at all, just a gaping maw of bots and automated accounts.

The app marketed itself as an event-organizing alternative to Facebook, aimed toward younger generations that think Mark Zuckerburg’s social network is for squares and old people. Despite the name, IRL quickly pivoted to online events after the pandemic made meeting up in real life nearly impossible.

Problems began mounting almost immediately after nabbing those millions from SoftBank. Last year, the company laid off 25 percent of its team, with founder Abraham Shafi encouraging employees to “adapt” and “be disciplined,” adding that “most people don’t want to be Olympians. In the same way, not everyone will want to walk the path we are walking.”

After that, employees began getting suspicious of Shafi’s claim of 20 million monthly active users. That’s when the SEC stepped in, issuing a probe as to whether or not IRL misled investors. In April of this year, the company’s board of directors suspended Shafi and appointed a new acting CEO.

Thanks to the inflated numbers and half-baked concept, IRL is shutting down and taking its 19 million bots with it. The company says it’s returning capital to shareholders, but nobody knows how much money is left in the coffers. Shafi once said that the company had “more than enough cash to last well into 2024” but he also touted 20 million active users so, you know, grain of salt and all of that.

This has been a tough week for SoftBank. The firm also invested nearly $400 million in a company that manufactures robot pizza makers. The company shuttered and is liquidating its assets, again leaving a giant question mark as to how much SoftBank would recoup from its original investment. That adds up to a potential loss of $500 million in a single week. Don’t worry about SoftBank, however, as the firm owns dozens of technology companies and recently sold Boston Dynamics for a cool billion. It’s still pretty embarrassing though.