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BlackBerry has everything Apple's Tetris film lacked: human drama grounded in actual history, without the need to spice things up with car chases and fantastical storytelling. On the face of it, the rise and fall of Research in Motion's keyboard-equipped smartphone may not seem inherently compelling. But the brilliance of the film — directed by Matt Johnson, who also co-wrote it with Matthew Miller — is that it makes the BlackBerry's journey feel like a genuine tragedy.

It's driven by two dramatically different people: RIM’s co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis, a nebbishy genius of an engineer, and Jim Balsillie, a ruthless and perpetually angry businessman. They struggled on their own, but together were able to rule the mobile industry for more than a decade. And then came the iPhone, which instantly reversed their fortunes.

Like many former titans, RIM fell victim to the innovator's dilemma. As described by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen, it's what happens when large and successful companies are entirely focused on iterating on existing products and appeasing customers. That leaves room for a more nimble newcomer to come along and develop something revolutionary that the incumbents could never have imagined.

In this case, it's Apple's iPhone, which lands like a nuclear bomb in the technology world. The film shows Lazaridis and his engineering team watching Steve Jobs' iconic iPhone keynote in disbelief. Lazaridis is the genius protagonist we've seen come up with the idea of a handheld, keyboard-equipped pocket computer that's efficient enough to run on unused, low-bandwidth wireless signals. Even after BlackBerry takes off, we see him have another stroke of inspiration with BlackBerry Messenger, a service that delivered free messaging to RIM's customers at a time when carriers charged 10 cents per SMS text. It was a brilliant maneuver that made BlackBerry users even more loyal, since BBM wasn't accessible on any other device.

IFC Films

Even though he was no stranger to game-changing innovation himself, Lazaridis didn't think the iPhone would work. It was too expensive. It didn't have a physical keyboard. And it was built to gobble up mobile data (something RIM took pains to avoid). Who would want that? Turns out everyone did. While the iPhone was indeed pricey at launch, carrier subsidies made it easier to stomach. Its large screen, (eventual) App Store and revolutionary OS made up for its touch-based keyboard. And it arrived just as 3G networks were rolling out, which gave carriers more of an incentive to charge customers for data instead of cellular minutes. Just as the BlackBerry gave us a glimpse of an always-connected world in 1999, the iPhone promised to put the full power of the internet in your pocket.

Spoilers for real life, I guess: BlackBerry dropped from having 20 percent of the global smartphone market share in 2010 to 0 percent in 2017, according to Statista. For people who weren't around for the company's heyday, the film serves as a valuable history lesson.

Crucially, though, it's not just like reading a Wikipedia entry. Johnson tells us exactly who Laziridis and Balsillie are from the very first scenes of the movie. As Laziridis and his RIM co-founder Doug Fregin prepare for a pitch meeting with Balsillie, he can't help but notice a buzzing intercom in the room. It's made in China, which to him is a red flag for bad engineering. So, almost without thinking, Laziridis tears it open and fixes a defective component. Balsillie, meanwhile, spends that time scheming to take the limelight away from a co-worker, simply because he thinks he's smarter than everyone around him.

While that first meeting doesn't go well, it's almost as if Laziridis and Balsillie's lives are destined to intertwine. The engineer needs someone with business smarts to sell his vision, and the business man needs something hot to sell. As played by Jay Baruchel (This is the End, How to Train Your Dragon), Lazaridis is practically a poster child for socially awkward engineers. Glenn Howerton, meanwhile, channels the childish energy of his It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia character to portray Balsillie as a coked-up ball of rage. He may get results, but he also has the uncanny ability to turn every room into a toxic workplace.

BlackBerry succeeds by making us care about Laziridis and his cadre of geeks, and by making Balsillie’s antics relentlessly entertaining (even when he’s being a complete jerk). But what’s most impressive is that it gives the story of Research in Motion a compelling dramatic shape: the rise of the genius, the defeat of his enemies (Palm’s potential hostile takeover of the company is particularly harrowing) and the inevitable downfall. It’ll forever change the way you view BlackBerry. And for the tech titans of today, the movie is a textbook example of how quickly you can fall from grace.

Hyundai is putting a relatively quick end to a class-action lawsuit over a viral TikTok car theft challenge. The automaker has agreed to pay a settlement worth up to $200 million to compensate roughly 9 million US Hyundai and Kia owners. About $145 million is earmarked for out-of-pocket losses for customers whose cars were stolen or damaged and weren't covered by insurance. The companies also say they'll cover insurance deductibles, higher insurance premiums and other related expenses.

The settlement covers a wide range of Hyundai and Kia cars released between the 2011 and 2022 model years, including the Elantra, Santa Fe and Tucson. The 2011-2014 Genesis Coupe is also included. The marques will pay up to $6,125 per owner for the total loss of a car, and up to $3,375 for damage to the vehicle and any personal property.

The brands have already released a dealership-installed update that improves theft prevention for certain models (such as the 2017-2020 Elantra, 2015-2019 Sonata and 2020-2021 Venue) by disabling push-to-start and lengthening the alarm. Other vehicles that can receive updates will get theirs by June. As part of the settlement, Hyundai and Kia will also offer up to $300 to help drivers buy anti-theft devices. They say they've already provided "tens of thousands" of free steering wheel locks to affected customers, and have provided AAA insurance options for customers who had trouble maintaining coverage.

The "Kia Challenge" emerged in mid-2022 after "Kia Boyz" posted TikTok videos showing how they used USB cables to hot-wire many Hyundai and Kia cars without anti-theft immobilizers. Thefts of those makes surged not long after, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration got involved after at least 14 crashes and eight deaths were linked to the viral clips.

The settlement heads off a high-profile court battle with owners, although it won't necessarily eliminate lawsuits from cities like Cleveland, San Diego and Seattle. It also underscores the cost of security issues in the social media era — it doesn't take much for a weakness to become public knowledge.

Solo Stove is offering up to 45 percent off its popular low-smoke fire pits. Additionally, you’ll get a free Mesa tabletop unit — a $120 value — by purchasing any fire pit or bundle when you use the code FREEMESA at checkout. The deals last from today until June 4th, covering you for your Memorial Day planning and beyond.

Solo Stove’s fire pits tend to be top-notch (they’re a favorite of Engadget buyers’ guides), but you typically pay for that quality. So sales like this are the best time to pick one up. Popular options include the 15-inch Ranger Essential Bundle, the 19-inch Bonfire Essential Bundle and the 27-inch Yukon Essential Bundle.

Solo Stove pits are known for their efficient wood-burning and minimal smoke output. That’s thanks to the company’s 360° Signature Airflow Technology, which uses convection heating while producing much less smoke than a standard fire pit. Although the oft-used description of “smokeless” isn’t entirely accurate, Solo Stove’s smoke output is barely perceptible once your fire gets going — and it gets as close to smokeless as any product out there. Additionally, the company’s new 2.0 line includes a removable base plate and ash pan that make cleanup much less of a chore than older models.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This week, we’re focusing on Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD), an annual event meant to promote the need for accessible tech solutions. Cherlynn returns to tell us what Apple, Google, Adobe and others are doing to make their products more useful for people with disabilities (and, it turns out, many general users too). We also discuss Sam Altman’s trip to Congress, and why we’re not entirely impressed with the OpenAI CEO’s calls for AI regulation. Finally, we explain why the BlackBerry movie is one of the best films about tech ever made (take that, Tetris!).

Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• Tech companies highlight new features for Global Accessibility Awareness Day – 1:27

• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman goes to Congress and advocates for A.I. regulation – 34:24

• Amazon announced a bunch of hardware: new Echo Buds, Echo Show and Echo Pop – 45:10

• Montana’s TikTok ban has been signed, scheduled to go into effect in 2024 – 49:04

• Working On (and Cherlynn’s experience on the ground at Google I/O) – 53:55

• Pop culture picks – 1:04:44

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Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Devindra Hardawar
Producer: Ben Ellman
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien
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Google recently announced that it will start deleting accounts that have been inactive for two years starting in December this year. The move was supposed to cover all its products, including Gmail, Drive, Docs, YouTube, Google Photos, Meet and Calendar. But now the tech giant has updated its blog post (as noticed by TechCrunch) announcing the purge to say that it does "not have plans to delete accounts with YouTube videos at this time."

The tech giant positioned security as its main reason for deleting inactive accounts. It said internal analysis showed that old, abandoned accounts are around 10 times less likely to have two-factor enabled. That makes them vulnerable to bad actors who could use them for identity theft and other nefarious purposes. One could also come to the conclusion, however, that deleting old accounts would free up space in Google's servers. 

After the announcement went out, critics raised concerns that the move could wipe out some important pieces of internet history. Old YouTube videos, including the very first one, would disappear, along with videos uploaded by deceased users. Google didn't say why it ultimately changed its mind, but YouTube videos are safe. For now.

As for the rest of its products, the company intends to send out warning emails to accounts in danger of being deleted and to their recovery emails by the end of 2023. Those accounts will be deactivated within 60 days if their owners don't log in after receiving the warning email, though users will have 60 more days (for a total of four months) to recover their accounts before they're permanently gone. 

• Read more about Unseen Threats: Invisible Drones and Mouse Jack Exploit Computer Security
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Google's Pixel 8 Pro could come with a new feature that's not quite commonly found on phones. 91mobiles has published a video from tipster Kuba Wojciechowski showing what looks like Pixel device being used to measure a person's temperature. Yep, if the leak is legit, the upcoming flagship Pixel will have a built-in thermometer. The video shows an infrared sensor similar to the ones used by contactless thermometers inside the metal panel where the rear cameras are also located. 

Based on the demonstration of the built-in thermometer, users will have to take off their glasses or any other eye and forehead accessories. They then have to bring the sensor as close to their forehead as possible without actually touching it and then moving their phone towards their temple in 5 seconds. 91mobiles says the sensor could also be used to measure the temperature of inanimate objects, but the video didn't demonstrate how that would work. Google's employees have reportedly been testing the feature, as well. 

A previous leak of computer renders show the Pixel 8 Pro as a rounded version of the Pixel 7, and this new video does show a device that's identical to those renders. While the upcoming phone bears a lot of physical similarities to its predecessor, its three rear cameras are now inside one module. On the Pixel 7 Pro, one of the three camera sensors is in a separate module. 

A thermometer is perhaps a curious feature addition for a phone, especially now that pandemic-related measures are no longer followed. Take note that this is merely a leak, and it remains to be seen whether the Pixel 8 Pros that will make their way to buyers will actually have the sensor.

91mobiles' video has already been deleted due to a copyright claim, but one of the publication's readers tweeted a copy that we've embedded below.

OpenAI has launched a free ChatGPT app for iOS. It’s the first official smartphone app for the chatbot, joining a crowded field of third-party mobile AI software which also taps into the GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 APIs powering ChatGPT.

It also allows switching between standard and GPT-4 language models for ChatGPT Plus subscribers, as well as conversation history (synced from your the desktop if you sign in with the same account) and the ability to export data and delete or rename conversations. It’s only available in the US for now, but the company says it will expand to additional countries “in the coming weeks.” It’s pretty much the same experience as the website.

At the same time, there are reports some tech companies are wary of staff using AI chatbots. (It’s already happened. In early April, The Economist Koreareported three Samsung employees shared confidential information with ChatGPT.) Apple reportedly fears someone inadvertently leaking proprietary data while using ChatGPT. To prevent that scenario, the company has reportedly restricted the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools, such as GitHub's Copilot that can autocomplete code. The Wall Street Journal also says Apple is working on large language models of its own.

– Mat Smith

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Take-Two hints that 'Grand Theft Auto VI' could land as early as 2024

The company said it's releasing 'groundbreaking titles' for fiscal year 2025.

Rockstar's parent company, Take-Two, has shared its projections for the future along with its yearly earnings report. And apparently, it's gearing up for a year that will take the company “to even greater levels of success." The company expects the titles it's releasing in the fiscal year 2025 to help it achieve $8 billion in net bookings, or the net amount of products and services sold.

As IGN reported, Take-Two's net bookings for the previous fiscal year reached $5.3 billion. An almost $3 billion jump in net bookings is massive, and unless Take-Two is making another huge acquisition, GTA is really the only franchise that would enable it to achieve that goal. It’s also one of, if not the, biggest AAA game series in the world.

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Heinz Remix is the sauce dispenser of your dreams

If those dreams involve smoky mayo.

Heinz

Custom soda machines are old news. We need custom sauces, and Heinz is happy to humor us. Kraft Heinz has unveiled a Heinz Remix dispenser that lets you customize sauces through a touchscreen interface. You choose from base sauces and add one or more "enhancers" at your choice of intensity. You want a splash of ketchup with a strong jalapeño accent and a hint of mango? You got it. The company plans to test Heinz Remix at unspecified restaurants in late 2023 to early 2024.

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Sony's Project Leonardo PS5 peripheral is now the Access controller

More details on the PlayStation’s accessibility controller.

Sony

Sony first shared information about its customizable controller back in January under the name Project Leonardo, and now we’re getting the finer details. The controller can be laid flat, placed at various angles and it can be installed on a tripod or other custom mount. The announcement brings it one small, and long overdue, step closer to offering parity with Microsoft, which released the Xbox Adaptive Controller back in 2018. However, the Access controller still has no release date or price, with more details coming "in the months ahead."

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'Mortal Kombat 1' reboots the series on September 19th

A beta will be available in August.

The next Mortal Kombat game is Mortal Kombat 1, a "reborn" take on the series, which promises new fighting mechanics and game modes. While most details are under wraps, you'll see many well-known characters as well as Kameo Fighters to help you mid-battle. And yes, the gore remains intact. A $110 digital Premium Edition will offer early access to the game (September 14th), a Johnny Cage skin that resembles actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and early access to playable characters and Kameo Fighters when they arrive post-launch. This makes me furious. Because Van Damme played Guile in Street Fighter: The Movie. And I’m easily angered.

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The Supreme Court has ruled that Andy Warhol has infringed on the copyright of Lynn Goldsmith, the photographer who took the image that he used for his famous silkscreen of the musician Prince. Goldsmith won the justices over 7-2, disagreeing with Warhol's camp that his work was transformative enough to prevent any copyright claims. In the majority opinion written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, she noted that "Goldsmith's original works, like those of other photographers, are entitled to copyright protection, even against famous artists." 

Goldsmith's story goes as far back as 1984, when Vanity Fair licensed her Prince photo for use as an artist reference. The photographer received $400 for a one-time use of her photograph, which Warhol then used as the basis for a silkscreen that the magazine published. Warhol then created 15 additional works based on her photo, one of which was sold to Condé Nast for another magazine story about Prince. The Andy Warhol Foundation (AWF) — the artist had passed away by then — got $10,000 it, while Goldsmith didn't get anything. 

Typically, the use of copyrighted material for a limited and "transformative" purpose without the copyright holder's permission falls under "fair use." But what passes as "transformative" use can be vague, and that vagueness has led to numerous lawsuits. In this particular case, the court has decided that adding "some new expression, meaning or message" to the photograph does not constitute "transformative use." Sotomayor said Goldsmith's photo and Warhol's silkscreen serve "substantially the same purpose." 

Indeed, the decision could have far ranging implications for fair use and could influence future cases on what constitutes as transformative work. Especially now that we're living in the era of content creators who could be taking inspiration from existing music and art. As CNN reports, Justice Elena Kagan strongly disagreed with her fellow justices, arguing that the decision would stifle creativity. She said the justices mostly just cared about the commercial purpose of the work and did not consider that the photograph and the silkscreen have different "aesthetic characteristics" and did not "convey the same meaning."

"Both Congress and the courts have long recognized that an overly stringent copyright regime actually stifles creativity by preventing artists from building on the works of others. [The decision will] impede new art and music and literature, [and it will] thwart the expression of new ideas and the attainment of new knowledge. It will make our world poorer," she wrote. 

The justices who wrote the majority opinion, however, believe that it "will not impoverish our world to require AWF to pay Goldsmith a fraction of the proceeds from its reuse of her copyrighted work. Recall, payments like these are incentives for artists to create original works in the first place."

Apple is famous for being protective of its projects and for expecting secrecy from its workers. Now, according to The Wall Street Journal, the tech giant is concerned about the possibility of its employees inadvertently leaking proprietary data while using ChatGPT. To prevent that scenario from happening, Apple has reportedly restricted the use of ChatGPT and other AI tools, such as GitHub's Copilot that can autocomplete code. The Journal also says that Apple is working on large language models of its own. 

In early April, The Economist Koreareported that three Samsung employees shared confidential information with ChatGPT. Apparently, one employee asked the chatbot to check database source code for errors, while another asked it to optimize code. The third employee reportedly uploaded a recorded meeting onto the chatbot and asked it to write minutes. It's unclear how Apple is restricting use of generative AI tools and if it's prohibiting their use completely. But in Samsung's case, the company restricted the length of employees' ChatGPT prompts to a kilobyte or 1024 characters of text. 

Large language models like OpenAI's become better the more people use them, because users' interactions are sent back to developers for further training. ChatGPT's terms and conditions, for instance, state that conversations "may be reviewed by [its] AI trainers to improve [its] systems." For a secretive company like Apple, limiting their use doesn't come as a surprise. That said, OpenAI introduced a new privacy control setting in April that enables users to switch off their chat histories so that their conversations can't be used for training. The company made it available after it had to pull ChatGPT for a few hours due to a bug that showed users other people's chat histories. 

Not much is known about Apple's LLM projects at the moment, if there truly are any, but all its AI efforts are under the supervision of John Giannandrea, who used to lead Google's search and AI teams. The tech giant has also snapped up a number of AI startups over the past few years. When asked about AI in an interview recently, Apple chief Tim Cook hinted that the tech giant is taking a cautious approach by saying: "I do think it's very important to be deliberate and thoughtful in how you approach these things."