Netflix's long-running Pokémon partnership is heading in a slightly unexpected direction. The streaming service has marked Pokémon Day by unveilingPokémon Concierge, a show featuring stop-motion animation from Japan's Dwarf Studio. The series follows Haru, who joins Psyduck in meeting various trainers and creatures on vacation.

The companies haven't shared the cast, format or release date. The production is "coming soon," Netflix says. However, it's safe to say you can expect a different style and storyline than the usual tales of Ash, Pikachu and crew.

Netflix first brought Pokémon content to subscribers in 2014, when it added the classic television series and two movies, among other videos. More has flowed in the years since, including the service-exclusive Pokémon Journeys. The strategy remains the same: Netflix potentially draws hordes of younger fans who may stick around for other kid-friendly shows, while The Pokémon Company helps introduce its gotta-catch-em-all brand to a generation that may never watch conventional TV.

After a wave of teasers, OnePlus has revealed its latest experimental phone — and this time the features are more practical than in the past. The OnePlus 11 Concept centers on "Active CryoFlux" liquid cooling that mimics what you see in some gaming PCs. The system uses a piezoelectric ceramic micropump to send cooling fluid throughout pipelines in the phone (visible on the outside) without "significantly" increasing the phone's bulk.

The result is a slight but tangible performance improvement, OnePlus claims. The company says the temperature drop boosts games by up to three to four frames per second, and reduces charging times by 30 to 45 seconds. Those figures won't have you rushing to replace your existing phone, but may help wring the full potential out of an upgrade.

After that, the differences versus the standard OnePlus 11 are mostly cosmetic. The conspicuous pipelines and blue LED lighting are the most obvious changes, but you'll also find a camera hump with intricate guilloché engraving similar to what you'd find on the dial of a luxury watch.

The OnePlus 11 Concept won't enter production. However, it won't be surprising if the liquid cooling and design techniques find their way to future phones. No, this won't match the raw cooling power found in high-end gaming phones, but it might make OnePlus more enticing if you want above-average speed without carrying a brick in your pocket.

Researchers are still discovering more about the Earth's center. A team at Australian National University (ANU) has found evidence of a new layer to the planet sitting within the inner core. This "innermost inner core" is an iron-nickel alloy ball that, as professor Hrvoje Tkalčić explains, is a "fossilized record" of Earth's ancient history. Until now, science had only recognized four layers (crust, mantle, outer core and inner core).

The scientists found the 'hidden' core by studying seismic waves that traveled back and forth across the Earth's entire diameter up to five times — previous studies only looked at single bounces. The earthquake waves probed places near the center at angles that suggested a different crystalline structure inside the innermost layer. Effectively, the alloy is skewing the travel times for the waves as they pass through.

The findings open up new ways to investigate the inner core, according to lead author Thanh-Son Phạm. ANU also believes the innermost inner core hints at a major event in Earth's past that had a "significant" impact on the planet's heart. As researchers explain to The Washington Post, it could also help explain the formation of the Earth's magnetic field. The field plays a major role in supporting life as it shields the Earth from harmful radiation and keeps water from drifting into space.

Those insights may help with studies of other worlds. Mars is believed to be a barren planet because it lost its magnetic field roughly four billion years ago, leaving no protection against solar winds and dust storms that carried away the atmosphere and oceans. Exoplanet hunters, meanwhile, could use the knowledge to search for habitable worlds. The presence of an Earth-like core structure isn't guaranteed to indicate survivability, but may play a role in narrowing down candidate planets.

Don't think you have to pay full price to get the Beats Fit Pro in new colors. Amazon is already selling the true wireless earbuds in Coral Pink and Volt Yellow for $170, or $30 off. The discount doesn't apply to Tidal Blue, alas, but this still means you can get vibrant hues for less than you'd pay for 'safer' options.

The new Beats Fit Pro variants are functionally identical to the originals, but that's not a bad thing — they're still our favorite wireless earbuds for workouts. The comfy, stable fit and sweat resistance make them well-suited to the gym. Solid active noise cancellation (ANC) helps you tune out the rest of the world. And importantly, their sound quality is better than you might expect. You'll get Beats' signature bass, but it's balanced and doesn't overpower higher-frequency elements, Toss in six hours of listening per charge with ANC enabled and these are buds you can use throughout the day.

You may still want to consider other earbuds, such as the AirPods Pro if you find them on sale. There's no wireless charging on the Beats Fit Pro, and the ANC is stronger on Apple's higher-end models. And while Beats' Android support is robust, you may want to look at options like the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro or Pixel Buds Pro if you want something particularly Android-friendly. If those aren't obstacles, though, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better value.

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You're forgiven if you've forgotten about Humanity, the game from Rez creator Tetsuya Mizuguchi's studio Enhance. However, it's finally close to launch — and it's receiving expanded platform support in the process. Enhance and THA have announced during Sony's State of Play event that the strange puzzle and platformer hybrid will arrive in May on PS4, PS5, PlayStation VR and PlayStation VR2. A demo is also available today through the PlayStation Store, although you'll have to act fast when it's only available to play for a "limited time."

The premise is clearer. You play a Shiba Inu (yes, really) who places commands to guide human crowds to safety in pillars of light. And that's just the start — you can expect flying people and lightsaber battles with the mysterious "Others," among further oddities. There's a 90-level story mode, but you can also build your own maps to challenge other players.

Humanity has been in development for a long time, to put it mildly. The title was unveiled in September 2019, and was slated to come to PS4 and PSVR sometime the following year. It's not clear what prompted the three-year wait (the pandemic certainly didn't help), but it might be worth a look to see what took the developers so long.

Lordstown Motors' problems aren't over just because it's manufacturing electric pickup trucks. The fledgling brand is pausing production and customer deliveries to help it tackle "performance and quality issues" with some components in its Endurance truck. Accordingly, it's partnering with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on a voluntary recall to fix a connection problem that could cut motor output while driving.

The recall will affect 19 vehicles already on the road, some of which were in use at Lordstown. The company isn't offering an estimate as to when production will resume, but claims it's making "significant progress" on component and subsystem issues holding up manufacturing. More details are expected to come when the firm holds its next earnings call on the morning of March 6th.

The freeze is tiny compared to issues at rivals like Tesla, which has recalled hundreds of thousands of cars (if frequently for software-only problems). However, Lordstown hasn't made many pickups so far — it only delivered the first trucks from its initial 500-unit wave in November, and said last year that it only expected to sell 3,000 Endurance models through 2023. The halt and recall are proportionately huge.

Lordstown also doesn't have much breathing room. GM sold its stake in late 2021, just a few months after Lordstown warned it didn't have enough money to make its signature truck. The startup then raised funds by selling its plant to manufacturing heavyweight Foxconn. It deepened the relationship in November in exchange for two Foxconn-chosen seats on the board of directors. There's pressure on Lordstown to turn things around, and setbacks like this don't help.

Spotify might not be done adding trendy technology to its streaming music service. The company has confirmed that it's testing a feature which requires owning an NFT (non-fungible token) to unlock certain playlists. The band Kingship is part of a pilot that also includes organizations like Fluf, Moonbirds and Overlord. The experiment appears to be limited to Android users in certain countries, although TechCrunch notes this isn't surprising when Apple limited NFT uses on iOS in October of last year.

A Spotify spokesperson tells Engadget the company "routinely" conducts tests. Some lead to product improvements while others only amount to "important learnings," the representative says. The company isn't commenting on future plans for the NFT pilot. The service is holding its next Stream On event on March 8th, but there's no guarantee the feature will make an appearance.

The firm is no stranger to the digital tokens. It tested NFT galleries on artist pages last spring, and was hiring people with related technical experience. A move like this would help Spotify form partnerships where it could spur listening (and sales of partners' NFTs) by putting a tastemaker's music selections behind a paywall.

The timing is unfortunate, however. Blockchain businesses like FTX and Coinbase are reeling from either fraud accusations or the continued crypto market downturn. Interest in NFTs has also cooled dramatically in the past year, in part because the assets frequently aren't selling well. Spotify is also cutting costs, and recently said it would lay off six percent of its workforce. The company has less money to invest in experiments, and would be entering a grim market.

One of the game industry's better-known figures is moving on from the studio he created. Bethesda has confirmed that Tango Gameworks founder and CEO Shinji Mikami is leaving his company in the "coming months." The designer hasn't provided reasons for his departure, or said where he's going next. We've asked Bethesda and Tango for comment.

Mikami has been one of the most influential game developers in his 33-year career. He's best-known for directing and producing early Resident Evil games, but has also played a key role in other Capcom series like Devil May Cry, Dino Crisis and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. He had a brief stint at PlatinumGames, only to found Tango Gameworks in 2010. His studio has enjoyed success with the Evil Within series and Ghostwire: Tokyo. Tango's most recent project is the surprise-release rhythm brawlerHi-Fi Rush.

Tango wasn't independent for long. Bethesda had its parent company, ZeniMax, acquire Mikami's studio in October 2010 after it ran into financial trouble. Microsoft bought ZeniMax in 2021.

This doesn't necessarily mean Tango is in trouble. Mikami executive produced the company's three most recent games, and Bethesda notes he's a "supportive mentor" to younger developers. However, this still amounts to an industry legend leaving the studio that's supposed to reflect his vision.

Google TV may now be easier to use when you're sitting down to watch shows with your kids. Google is adding four new pages to the interface that include a Family section, where you'll find suggested content rated PG or lower. While this isn't a completely novel concept (Netflix has a dedicated Kids profile, for example), it should help you find titles that are safe for everyone to watch. The expansion also includes an Español page that, as the name implies, recommends Spanish-language content like movies, shows and live TV.

Other changes apply more universally. The Movies and Shows tabs have been turned into pages. You'll also find a few navigation tweaks that include a quick settings button and more convenient locations for profile and search functions.

The new pages are currently available in the US. The navigation updates are rolling out worldwide as of today. All the changes will be visible on devices that support Google TV, including Google's own Chromecast hardware as well as TVs from companies like Hisense and Sony.

The revamp doesn't come as a surprise. Google is competing with other platforms where child-safe content is either already walled off or dominates, such as Disney+ and Netflix. An update like this may make Google TV more compelling to young families, and creates more consistency with Google's own YouTube Kids.

FTX co-creator Sam Bankman-Fried (aka SBF) is now dealing with four new charges over the collapse of his crypto exchange. A newly unsealed indictment in a New York federal court accuses SBF of fraudulent activity through both FTX and a linked hedge fund. The co-founder also allegedly violated federal campaign finance laws by making secret political donations using the names of two executives.

The expanded charges now include 12 counts. A source speaking to CNBC claims the additional allegations could lead to an additional 40 years in prison if SBF is convincted.

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