ArduinoMania

Philips Hue might command much of the attention when it comes to smart light bulbs, but there are other options that allow you to control your home lighting from your phone without having to spend quite as much. Govee, for instance, offers some more affordable solutions, and several of the company's products are currently on sale at Amazon. Among them is a two-pack of 33-foot, color-changing LED strips. After a $20 coupon is applied at checkout, the light strips can be all yours for $57. That's $25 off the typical price.

Govee's strip lights have a protective coating that's said to protect them from moisture and dust. The company says that, as opposed to RGB lighting, its RGBIC approach enables it to display "stunning segmented colors" on a line. 

You can connect the strips directly to your WiFi router and control them using Alexa or Google Assistant. Otherwise, you can customize the lighting through Govee's app. There's also the option to sync the lighting to music. It's worth noting that the bundle comes with one power adaptor that has two connection ports, so you'll need to keep the two LED strips next to each other.

Also in Govee's Amazon sale (which includes a set of string lights that has dropped in price by 41 percent), there's a solid deal on a floor lamp. This product works with Alexa and it has support for music sync as well. The lamp has multiple sections, each of which can display different colors. Curiously, the Amazon listing notes that buyers will either be sent an old or a new version at random. The old one is 55.5 inches, while the newer smart lamp measures 53.7 inches. In any case, you can currently snap one up for $80, which is $20 off the usual price.

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

Laya's Horizon is the next big mobile game from Snowman, the studio behind Alto's Adventure and Alto's Odyssey, and it'll be available to play on May 2nd. While both Alto games were exclusive to iOS at launch, Laya's Horizon will hit iOS and Android devices simultaneously, and it'll be ad-free and cost $0 for anyone with a Netflix account.

Laya's Horizon is Snowman's most ambitious game yet, and its launch trailer showcases a vast mountaintop world as it introduces the game's main mechanic — zipping through the air in a wingsuit. The main character soars among various biomes, falling rapidly and grazing the edges of cliffs, trees and villages, collecting yellow gems along the way. The map is densely populated with plant life and man-made structures, while the sea stretches beyond, always within view.

I've spent some time playing Laya's Horizon, and it's clear that this is more complex and fast-paced than either Alto game, with more opportunities to crash and burn, but also more room to learn and grow. It's an engaging, cozy and responsive experience — I'll share more impressions about it closer to launch day.

Snowman partnered with Netflix for Laya's Horizon, and it's not the only indie studio working with the streaming company nowadays. Netflix is making a big and, so far, successful push into video game publishing and development, bringing titles like Spiritifarer and Into the Breach to mobile platforms for the first time. Netflix even purchased the team behind Oxenfree, Night School Studio, which is preparing to release Oxenfree II: Lost Signals this July.

Laya's Horizon is the next big mobile game from Snowman, the studio behind Alto's Adventure and Alto's Odyssey, and it'll be available to play on May 2nd. While both Alto games were exclusive to iOS at launch, Laya's Horizon will hit iOS and Android devices simultaneously, and it'll be ad-free and cost $0 for anyone with a Netflix account.

Laya's Horizon is Snowman's most ambitious game yet, and its launch trailer showcases a vast mountaintop world as it introduces the game's main mechanic — zipping through the air in a wingsuit. The main character soars among various biomes, falling rapidly and grazing the edges of cliffs, trees and villages, collecting yellow gems along the way. The map is densely populated with plant life and man-made structures, while the sea stretches beyond, always within view.

I've spent some time playing Laya's Horizon, and it's clear that this is more complex and fast-paced than either Alto game, with more opportunities to crash and burn, but also more room to learn and grow. It's an engaging, cozy and responsive experience — I'll share more impressions about it closer to launch day.

Snowman partnered with Netflix for Laya's Horizon, and it's not the only indie studio working with the streaming company nowadays. Netflix is making a big and, so far, successful push into video game publishing and development, bringing titles like Spiritifarer and Into the Breach to mobile platforms for the first time. Netflix even purchased the team behind Oxenfree, Night School Studio, which is preparing to release Oxenfree II: Lost Signals this July.

There’s a lot to keep track of as a new mom. All of a sudden, you’re scrambling to learn how to care for a tiny person, without sleep and with a lot of new responsibilities. It’s a rough adjustment that takes time, patience and probably at least a few crying jags to get the hang of. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for a new mother, give her time to sleep. If you’re looking for the next best thing, try these helpful gadgets that are designed to make the job at least a little easier.

Hatch Rest+

Having a soft light on during nighttime feeds and diaper changes can be really helpful, especially when you’re sleep deprived. And a lot of experts will recommend using a white noise machine to help babies sleep soundly. Hatch’s Rest line combines both functions into a single device that can be controlled entirely from a smartphone. The Rest, and Rest+, offer 11 colors and sounds that can be combined, favorited, programed and timed to help your baby doze. The Rest+ is more expensive at $90, but adds a clock, battery power and a two-way audio monitor feature. It can also be voice controlled using Alexa. I’ve used it successfully to help sleep train the twins and, when they’re bigger, it can be programmed to help them learn when to wake up. — Amber Bouman, Commerce Writer

Owlet baby monitor and smart sensor

If there is only one piece of tech that makes it into the nursery, it should be a baby monitor. Being able to check on your sleeping infant without waking them is an invaluable gift, and you’ll want one that’s reliable, clear and adds thoughtful features (not just tech for tech’s sake).

Owlet makes a Cam that streams 1080p HD video to an app on your phone. The camera itself can sit on a base or get mounted to a wall. It has a 130-degree wide-angle lens to cover the room, but has to be manually tilted or adjusted so you can’t pan remotely. The video feed has night vision and displays in color during the day. The camera has two-way audio, so you can both hear your little one and speak to them through the device. There’s also background audio so sound from the camera will play over other apps if you have it up and running as well. In addition, it can send you notifications if it senses movement or sound coming from your baby’s crib. The Cam uses AES 128-bit encryption and a TSL connection to WiFi for security, though the feed can be shared with up to five people at a time (assuming you’ve shared your log-in credentials with them).

Lastly, it can be paired with Owlet's wearable sensor, the Smart Sock, which measures an infant’s heart rate and pulse ox. If the baby’s stats take a dive or shoot into irregular levels, you’ll get a very unsubtle alert on your phone — and on the sock’s base station. Because it’s intended to be worn at night and during naps, the Owlet Sock also tracks babies’ sleep habits. All this data is viewable in the app, making it a fairly complete monitoring system. — A.B.

LIFX smart lights

New moms don’t have enough hands to do everything they need to, when it needs to be done. Automating even the smallest task, like turning on and off a light, can be a big help. LIFX’s smart lights make great gifts because they come in all-white or color options, they’re dimmable and they require no connecting bridge or hub. That means your giftee can just screw them into their existing lamps, connect them to WiFi via the mobile app and start using them. They may want to automatically dim the lights in their baby’s room at a certain time, or shift to warmer or cooler light depending on the time of day. They can customize it as much or as little as they want — and if they just can’t be bothered, they can always use Alexa, Siri or Google Assistant voice commands to control these smart lights, too. — Valentina Palladino, Senior Commerce Editor

Kobo Clara 2E

Whether she’s bottle or breast feeding, a new mom has a lot of sitting-around time when the baby’s first born. She could spend time scrolling social media, but “flipping” through a book on an e-reader might be more rewarding. Kobo’s Clara 2E earned the top spot in our guide to e-readers thanks to its eye-friendly warm light, sharp display, intuitive interface and speedy but accurate touch responses. It’s compact and lightweight enough to hold in one hand, which is particularly important for busy new moms, and it can handle getting accidentally drenched. She can buy books through the Kobo store, borrow them from the library or subscribe to Kobo Plus for $10 per month to get unlimited access to a big selection of audio- and e-books. – Amy Skorheim, Commerce Writer

Theragun Mini 2.0

If the new baby has mom feeling knots, a personal massage “gun” like the Theragun Mini 2.0 can provide some temporary relief by gently pummeling away her muscle aches. While not the most forceful device of its kind, this triangular massager is effective enough to ease soreness yet small enough to carry around and outside of the house. We’ve recommended the original Mini in past gift guides; that one has slightly longer battery life and remains a good buy if you’re on a tighter budget, but this model is 20 percent smaller and supports a couple more attachments for targeting different parts of the body. Just be warned neither is exactly quiet. No massage gun is a substitute for proper sleep and nutrition habits, but since those will be in shorter supply for any new mom, it can be a useful tool to have on hand. — Jeff Dunn, Senior Commerce Writer 

Twelve South HoverBar Duo

A tablet might be a new mom’s saving grace when she’s constantly shuffling around the house tending to the needs of a baby. A good stand like the HoverBar Duo can make it easier for her to safely and securely prop up her device without fear of it accidentally being knocked over by a rogue, tiny fist. One of our favorite iPad accessories, the HoverBar Duo has a weighted base, and while it could be knocked over, it would require more force than most infants could muster. It also comes with a clamp attachment so they could hook it to a table or desk if that’s more convenient. Whether they need to use their tablet to read work documents, show off the little bundle of joy to friends and family in a video call, or just binge-watch a show while the kid naps, the HoverBar Duo can give them a stable way to keep their table in view. — V.P.

Baby Brezza Safe + Smart bottle warmer

I’m not sure exactly how many steps I’m earning walking up and downstairs to check on the bottle warmer, but it’s probably a fair percentage of my daily exercise. Baby Brezza makes a Safe + Smart Baby Bottle Warmer that uses Bluetooth to connect the device to your phone. Using the Baby Brezza app you can operate the warmer remotely and get alerts when the bottle is ready. Though the app is pretty minimal, that’s not always a bad thing when you’re bleary-eyed and trying to feed an infant in the early morning hours. Plus, having controls on your phone allows you to turn off the warmer and avoid overheating a bottle. The downside is that the Safe + Smart warmer only holds a single bottle at a time. — A.B.

Smart breast pump

If your giftee is breastfeeding or pumping, a smart breast pump from Elvie or Willow is going to be a huge time saver. These wearable pumps let Mom keep on schedule while keeping her hands free to do any of the 40 other things she’s got on her plate. The pump, power supply and container are all contained in the egg-shaped device, which pairs to an app using Bluetooth. They’re a bit cumbersome to wear, but comfortable to use, and it beats being tethered to a wall unit, though the results are not always as consistent.

Though both products are similar in design and functionality, there are some differences between them. The Willow pump can be used with reusable containers or disposable bags, while the Elvie only has the container option. The Elvie pump is quieter and more discreet, while the Willow pump offers a spill-proof system that can be used even while upside down. (I tested this myself and it works.) They can be purchased in a set or two, or as an individual pump. — A.B.

Wabi Baby 3-in-1 sanitizer

While my children are very cute, they also like to chew on my house slippers, eat post-its and lick the touch-and-feel books. So I spend a lot of time cleaning the things that do belong in their mouths like pacifiers and teethers and plastic toys, which invariably end up on the car floor. While most of these things are easy to throw into boiling water, it can be worth the time saved to let a sanitizer do the job. The Wabi Baby sanitizer is something that I received as a gift, and it’s served me well. It takes up a fair amount of counter space but it’s relatively quiet; it fits a wide variety of bottles, dinnerware and accessories; and it can run a drying cycle after the steam sanitation session.

The display shows how much longer the process will run, it’s fairly simple to operate and it automatically remembers your last session so you can select it again easily. However, you can only use distilled water which can admittedly be a pain. Also, you have to be careful about where you put the Wabi; it requires a drainage mat for excess water. — A.B.

Bose QuietComfort 2 earbuds

Bose’s QuietComfort 2 earbuds have excellent active noise cancellation (ANC), but new moms might not feel comfortable flipping it on when they’re always on alert. Fortunately, Bose’s latest buds also have a good transparency mode, which lets you hear the world around you and your music or podcast. They’ll pair up with Apple or Android devices and their smaller size make them more comfortable than previous generations. We awarded them an 87 in our review and gave them a spot in our wireless earbuds guide, mostly thanks to their ANC. Moms might not get the chance to tune out the world all that often, but when someone else is on baby duty, a little bit of silence may feel like a blessing. – A.S.

Hulu subscription

The new mom in your life will probably appreciate some TV time on your dime when she finally gets the little one to go to sleep – and when the baby inevitably wakes up and needs to be held soon after. Hulu’s app isn’t the cleanest, but the service remains one of the better streaming services for keeping up with recent episodes from primetime TV shows. It has its share of kid-friendly content as well, though you can expand that catalog by pairing the service with Disney+ (and ESPN+) through a Disney Bundle subscription. — J.D.

Making a follow-up to Breath of the Wild (BoTW) is an almost impossible task. Not only was the first Zelda game on the Nintendo Switch an instant classic, it’s also one of the best games in an incredibly storied franchise. To make things even more difficult, Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom features the same basic graphics, map layout and general mechanics as its predecessor, which can sometimes make follow-ups feel more like an expansion pack instead of a true sequel. But after getting a chance to play a hands-on preview build of Tears of the Kingdom, I think Nintendo might have just pulled it off by making a game that expands upon the original and then blasting it into the sky (literally) with a new world of creation.

Now before we get into the preview itself, I should mention that this build didn’t touch on any of Tears of the Kingdom’s (ToTK) story. The demo strictly focused on showing off Link’s new abilities in a small area that had me battling through a Bokoblin camp before exploring some of the game's new sky islands. Now this may sound a bit contrived, but it makes a ton of sense because where ToTK shines is when you start combining Link’s new skills – Ascend, Recall, Fuse and Ultrahand – with his returning arsenal of items and weapons.

Nintendo

I’m going to start with Ascend and Recall because they are the most straightforward of the four. Ascend is a simple movement ability that lets you move through rock and other materials. The caveat is that, like its name implies, you can only go up and to make the ability work, you need to have some sort of ceiling relatively close above your head. It’s a great way to get to the top of a mountain or tower when you’re exploring a cavern or room below, and from there you can use your glider to soar to other locations. I should also mention that while the general topography is largely the same, Nintendo has altered a lot of previous locations for TotK while adding a bunch of new content with those sky islands.

Meanwhile, Recall is a lot like the Stasis ability from BotW, but in reverse. By targeting an object, you can then rewind time and return it to where it came from. This allows you to use falling rocks as elevators (which is super convenient for getting to sky islands), though you can also use it offensively as well. For example, in that aforementioned camp the baddies tried rolling a boulder at me, only for it to backfire when I used Recall to send the rock straight back at them as if Link was bowling for Bokoblins. Trust me, it’s even more satisfying than it sounds, and it only gets better when you can combo Recall with other attacks like bombs and arrows, which brings us to Fuse.

In a lot of ways, Fuse makes me feel sorry for other developers because it's an ability that’s wildly fun but seems like a nightmare to program due to all the possible combos. In short, it lets you combine pretty much any one item – from plants to stuff like bombs – with any one of your weapons to often surprising outcomes. In Nintendo’s gameplay demo, you can see series producer Eijii Aonuma demonstrating a few combos, but when you finally start messing around with things on your own, the results can be astounding. You can fuse various crystals to arrows to unleash powerful elemental attacks. Alternatively, I fused a frond to a stick to create a hilarious mid-range air attack that feels like you're beating someone up with the fan from Smash Bros. And because you can fuse items lying on the ground with one of your weapons in the middle of a fight, it encourages you to be resourceful during battle.

There are also a lot of handy utility combos like fusing a light-emitting plant to an arrow to illuminate caves and such. Not only does this give spelunking a moody almost Dark Souls-like vibe at times, it’s also an expansion to gameplay as lighting has a direct effect on how you experience new areas. And if that wasn’t enough, combining items also increases the durability and strength of the base items, so you’re incentivized to try out a wide variety of fusions.

Nintendo

But the ability with the biggest impact is Ultrahand, which sounds silly especially when you consider that it comes from what looks like an ancient version of the iconic Power Glove. Ultrahand allows you to build machines using nearby materials and from what I’ve played the possibilities are endless. It reminds of the old Skyrim meme that goes “See that mountain? You can climb it,” except that in TotK’s case, it’s more like “Imagine a vehicle? You can build it.”

Contraptions can be as simple as a raft or as complicated as a plane, and by using special Zonai devices which can take the form of fans, rockets and more along with some sort of built-in batteries (the demo didn’t explain where or how to upgrade power sources), you can use these devices to traverse the world like Aladdin on a magic carpet ride. But it’s better because the carpet is of your design.

Nintendo

On some level, I have to imagine that Ultrahand was partly inspired by all the crazy contraptions created by players in BotW, and now Nintendo is doubling down on that creativity. Even without doing anything related to the story, I can already see myself getting totally lost in a world of my own creation. For example, in the demo area there was a conveniently placed pile of wooden boards and wheels. So naturally I took 10 minutes to arrange them into a crude war wagon. Then I attached a steering wheel, fans in back for propulsion and flamethrowers up front for extra damage, only to have the whole thing burn up as soon as I drove into some tall grass. It was such an anti-climatic (but hilarious) end to my newly constructed vehicle and I couldn’t wait to do it again. But next time with some metal parts.

The one downside to Ultrahand (if there is one) is that it definitely takes some time to get used to the controls. It’s almost like Nintendo dropped a streamlined version of Besiege into Tears of the Kingdom, which is great because you get a lot of freedom on how to put things together. However, moving and rotating each piece so that it attaches properly to your vehicle requires some patience. Thankfully, for those less interested in building their own vehicles, I can confirm that there is a streamlined way of making new contraptions with a couple simple button taps. (I can’t say much more right now.)

Nintendo

After my 75-minute demo session, all I could think about were the endless number combos and possibilities I wanted to try. It feels like Nintendo has really leaned into the sandbox nature of the previous Zelda game, and even without touching the story I can already tell how easy it will be to get sidetracked by Tears of the Kingdom’s creative opportunities. But my biggest takeaway is that coming from Breath of the Wild – which was a game so good it made me rethink how I score video games – Tears of the Kingdom is already giving off similar vibes of magic and wonder. In a lot ways, Tears of the Kingdom could be what Majora’s Mask is to The Ocarina of Time. You have the same engine, the same map, and the same basic mechanics, but with building and fusing instead of playful masks and that divisive three-day cycle. Some of Tears of the Kindgom’s new abilities might not be your cup of tea, but even so, it’s already feeling like a must-play.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom goes on sale on May 12th for the Nintendo Switch.

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The UK’s antitrust regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, has announced it will block Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard. In a statement, the body said the deal risks harming the nascent cloud-gaming market by creating a monopoly player. It said that Microsoft would have a market share of between 60 and 70 percent, giving it an “incentive to withhold [Activision Blizzard] games from competitors and substantially weaken competition in this important growing market.”

This breaking news story is developing, please refresh for more information.

Following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s running for re-election, the Republican National Committee (RNC) was primed with a new attack ad. However, new for 2023, the ad uses AI-generated imagery to create almost-realistic visions of what might happen. This includes hypothetical domestic and international incidents the RNC suggests might happen if Biden wins again: "This morning, an emboldened China invades Taiwan," a fake news announcer says.

The RNC told Axios it was the first time it had used a video made entirely with AI. The ad features a faint disclaimer in the top-left corner noting the ad was "built entirely with AI imagery." Given I thought the Pope in a puffer jacket was real, this is, unfortunately, probably just the start.

– Mat Smith

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GM will stop making the Chevy Bolt EV later this year

The company is shifting to a new battery system.

On an earnings call with investors, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said the company plans to cease production of the Chevy Bolt EV and EUV by the end of 2023. Between them, the models account for most of GM's EV sales. However, the Bolt's battery cells are based on an older design, and GM is transitioning to its Ultium system. According to Barra, GM will modify a Detroit-area plant where it makes the Chevy Bolts, so it can produce the electric Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra there starting in 2024.

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ASUS ROG Ally handheld gaming PC hands-on

Possibly the most powerful portable gaming PC yet.

Engadget

Valve released the Steam Deck over a year ago. Now it’s finally time for some true competition. Thanks to potent specs, a speedy screen and a slick design, this might be the most powerful PC gaming handheld yet. Not only does it feature a new Ryzen Z1 chip – which is a customized Zen 4/RDNA 3 APU designed specifically for handheld gaming PCs – it also has a 7-inch 1080p screen with 500 nits of brightness and a 120Hz refresh rate. That alone represents some very premium upgrades compared to the Steam Deck. But we still don’t know when the Ally will land – or how much it’ll cost. Still, you can read about it.

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DJI's Mavic 3 Pro drone comes with a triple-camera setup

The new 70mm equivalent camera gives a portrait-like view of subjects.

DJI has unveiled its new flagship consumer drone, the Mavic 3 Pro, with a triple-camera setup that includes a new 70mm lens designed for "powerful subject framing." It also includes a new 10-bit D-Log M color mode, improvements in the tele cameras and ProRes capture on the Mavic 3 Pro Cine option. As for the price, the Mavic 3 Pro is only a bit more expensive than the Mavic 3's current $2,049 starting price. The Mavic 3 Pro with a DJI remote control starts at $2,199, while the Fly More combo with the DJI RC, three intelligent flight batteries, a charging hub, carrying bag and one ND filter set is $2,999. It’s set to go on sale next month.

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Opera One is a browser designed for generative AI features

The early access version of Opera's redesigned browser coming out later this year.

Opera has released the early access version of its completely redesigned browser, Opera One. It can automatically and intuitively group websites people open based on their content. It will open all pages with menus and restaurant details in one island, for instance, and all tabs with Google Docs in another. Opera One also comes with ChatGPT, ChatSonic and AI Prompts enabled by default. If you recall, the company introduced sidebar integration for the AI chatbots back in March, allowing users to quickly launch them in a separate window in the browser.

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ispace's Hakuto-R Mission 1 was poised to make history. It was going to be the first successful moon landing by a private company and the first Japanese lunar landing overall. But shortly before the spacecraft was supposed to touch down on the lunar surface, ispace lost contact with it. Now, the Japanese company has announced that there was a "high probability that the lander eventually made a hard landing on the moon's surface." It didn't use the word "crash," but the spacecraft is clearly not in a condition that would allow the company to proceed with the mission. 

The spacecraft was scheduled to land on the moon on April 26th at 1:40 AM Japan time (April 25th, 12:40PM Eastern time). ispace said it was able to confirm that the lander was in vertical position as it approached the surface and that its descent speed rapidly increased by the time its propellant was almost gone. 

By 8AM Japan time, ispace has determined that "Success 9" of Hakuto-R's mission milestones, which is the completion of its lunar landing, was no longer achievable. The company has yet to detail what happened to the spacecraft and what the root cause of the failure was, but it's currently analyzing the telemetry data it had acquired and will announce its findings once it's done. 

Hakuto-R launched on top of a SpaceX rocket around 100 days ago, carrying payloads from NASA, JAXA, as well as the UAE's first lunar rover called Rashid. While the mission failed to reach its ultimate goal, ispace said it was "able to acquire valuable data and know-how from the beginning to nearly the end of the landing sequence" and that it will use what it has learned from this event to enable a "future successful lunar landing mission." The company still intends to push through with Mission 2 scheduled for launch in 2024 and Mission 3 for 2025.