Electro-Harmonix is looking to bridge the gap between analog and digital music creation with its Big Muff Pi Hardware Plugin, which is a mashup of an effect pedal and audio interface. The $329 unit is said to work like a standard digital audio workstation (DAW) plugin, though you can route your guitar tracks through the genuine actual analog circuitry of the Big Muff Pi harmonic distortion-sustainer. It's the real deal, rather than a software-emulated version of the classic pedal.

The device uses the circuit design of the 1973 Violet Ram’s Head Big Muff, albeit with some tweaks to deliver true stereo audio. Electro-Harmonix says the unit, which is available now, has Tone Wicker and Tone Bypass, along with 10 footswitch-accessible presets.

The company claims the device, which can be used as a standalone pedal too, should integrate with DAWs including Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Cubase, GarageBand and Logic Pro X without a hitch. The unit can operate as a 2-in/2-out USB audio recording interface, so you can record tracks without having the Big Muff effect active.

The Big Muff is one of the most important effects pedals in music history. Artists including Smashing Pumpkins, Dinosaur Jr., Pink Floyd, Carlos Santana, Mudhoney and Sonic Youth have used it to hone their sounds. Being able to harness those genuine Big Muff tones in a digital environment could help more musicians create more bombastic-sounding songs.

United Airlines is moving deeper into the flying taxi business. Not only has the airline plowed $15 million into Eve Air Mobility, it ordered 200 flying taxis and has an option for another 200. United expects to start receiving Eve's four-seater electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle (eVTOL) as soon as 2026.

The company says its investment was spurred by both its confidence in the urban air mobility market and Eve's working relationship with Embraer. According to United, Embrarer is "a trusted aircraft manufacturer with a proven track record of building and certifying aircraft over the company's 53-year history." Embrarer previously worked with Uber on a flying taxi project that the latter eventually ditched.

Eve's flying taxi has conventional fixed wings, rotors and pushers with a design that United says favors safety, efficiency, reliability and certifiability. It's said to have a range of 60 miles and United added that the vehicle can "reduce noise levels by 90 percent compared to current conventional aircraft."

This isn't the first time United has reached an agreement with an eVTOL company. Last month, it put down a $10 million deposit with a different California-based one for 100 flying taxis. As such, the company has lined up as many as 500 flying taxis to add to its fleet.

United has set up a corporate venture fund with the aim of bolstering its ambition to reach net zero emissions by 2050 without relying on traditional carbon offsets. Through the United Airlines Ventures fund, it has also invested in hydrogen fuel cell engines and sustainable fuel.

"Today, United is making history again, by becoming the first major airline to publicly invest in two eVTOL companies," United Airlines Ventures president Michael Leskinen said in a statement. "Together, we believe our suite of clean energy technologies will revolutionize air travel as we know it and serve as the catalyst for the aviation industry to move toward a sustainable future."

If you decide to pick up the new, high-end Apple Watch Ultra, it's probably a good idea to pay for AppleCare+ protection. Without AppleCare+, an Apple Watch Ultra repair will cost an eye-watering $499, as MacRumors points out. Not only is that nearly two-thirds of the price of the $799 Ultra, it's the cost of an Apple Watch Series 8 with cellular connectivity.

Apple will charge that $499 fee to fix physical damage to the device. During the coverage period, AppleCare+ includes "unlimited incidents of accidental damage protection." Even so, you'll still need to pay a $79 service fee for repairs. Meanwhile, Apple will charge $99 to replace the battery, even if you do have AppleCare+.

Depending on the model, Apple Watch Series 8 repairs will cost between $299 and $399 without AppleCare+ protection (the device starts at $399). The service fee is $69 with AppleCare+. Apple Watch SE repairs outside of AppleCare+ coverage will run you between $199 and $229. Battery replacements for the non-Ultra models cost $79.

Meanwhile, we had some hands-on time with the Ultra this week. While the device certainly seems more rugged than other Apple Watch models, it's not immune to damage, so ponying up $99 for AppleCare+ coverage could prevent your wallet from feeling a far sharper sting.

Amazon has agreed to buy Cloostermans, a company that makes robots capable of stacking pallets in its warehouses. Amazon says it already uses Belgium-based Cloostermans' tech, which can also package products.

After the acquisition closes, Cloostermans' 200 or so employees will join the Amazon Global Robotics division in Europe and likely dedicate their time to solely building tech that suits Amazon's needs. "By focusing Cloostermans’s deep experience in engineering, machinery, and robotics, we will more rapidly deploy solutions in our workplace that support employees in their roles and improve safety at work, and also help reduce packaging waste," Amazon said in a press release. The company has previously spoken of its belief that having more robots will improve worker safety.

Amazon has been introducing more robots to its warehouses to increase automation. In June, it revealed Proteus, its first autonomous warehouse robot. The device is capable of moving carts filled with packages by itself.

While Amazon has been relying more on robots at its fulfillment centers for several years, the Cloostermans acquisition comes soon after employees at a Staten Island facility became the first Amazon warehouse workers to win a union election. The company said in 2019 that automation isn't expected to replace human workers at warehouses for at least a decade.

NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference goes down this month and the company has revealed when CEO Jensen Huang's keynote will take place. You'll be able to watch it on NVIDIA's website at 11AM ET on September 20th. The keynote will kick off with a GeForce Beyond special broadcast, which will also stream on Twitch and YouTube.

The company says the event will include "the latest breakthroughs in gaming, creating and graphics technology." NVIDIA is expected to reveal its RTX 40-series graphics cards during the broadcast — an image the company shared to promote the event includes the GeForce RTX Logo. NVIDIA previously said it would release its first Ampere Next-based GPUs this year. Those will supplant graphics cards with the current Ampere architecture.

It remains to be seen just how well the RTX 40-series cards will perform. In the meantime, the 30-series GPUs are finally readily available after the cryptocurrency market cratered.

Overwatch 2 is just a few weeks away and more details are trickling out about what to expect from the sequel. It’s been known for a while that there will be three new heroes at launch, the first fresh faces for the series in over two and a half years. But there will be significant changes to how Blizzard introduces new playable characters — you’ll need to unlock them through a battle pass.

“Addressing some incomplete info posted early about our Overwatch 2 Battle Pass — we'll be sharing all details ahead of launch, but want to confirm that new Overwatch 2 heroes will be available on the free track of the Battle Pass,” Overwatch commercial leader and vice-president Jon Spector wrote on Twitter. Blizzard plans to add three or four heroes every year on a seasonal basis after launch.

Spector was referring to details that someone apparently released too early about the battle pass. The leak also indicated that the next support hero will be named Kiriko. Per Reset Era, a description for the Watchpoint Pack, a bundle that includes access to Overwatch and a bunch of perks for the free-to-play sequel, noted that those who buy the premium version of the battle pass “automatically receive access to Overwatch’s latest hero Kiriko!” The description has since been edited to remove that information.

It’s not uncommon for free-to-play games to paywall new characters or at least not make them available immediately to everyone. Valorant and Apex Legends take that approach.

This is a major shift for Overwatch, though. Blizzard made every character available to all players at the same time in the original game. Players are free to swap characters mid-game to counter enemy compositions, something that isn’t possible in the likes of Apex and Valorant. New heroes tend to be overpowered at first as well. Newcomer Junker Queen has been a dominant presence in the Overwatch League in recent weeks for that very reason (the league moved to an early build of Overwatch 2 this season).

Gating new heroes behind battle pass progression means those who don’t have the time to grind to unlock them might quickly find themselves at a disadvantage. It's unclear whether players will be able to pay to level up the battle pass, as they can in the likes of Fortnite and Fall Guys, but it seems those who buy the premium battle pass will gain instant access to at least one of the fresh faces.

Blizzard will reveal more details about how the Overwatch 2 battle pass and character unlocks work in the coming weeks. The game will arrive and replace the current version of Overwatch entirely on October 4th.

Uber and Lyft say riders and drivers in New York are no longer required to wear masks. "With NYC's updated mask guidance for transportation, masks are now optional in Lyft rides," a Lyft spokesperson told Engadget. "We're in the process of updating the app to reflect this." Uber informed users of the policy change by email.

The move follows Governor Kathy Hochul's decision to lift a mask mandate for public transportation on Wednesday. New York City's Taxi & Limousine Commission also announced that face coverings were no longer mandatory in vehicles that it oversees, though it still strongly recommends wearing masks. Face coverings are no longer required on the subway either.

After a federal judge struck down a nationwide mask mandate for public transit in April, Uber and Lyft both dropped their mask requirements in the US. However, riders and drivers still needed to wear masks in some areas, including New York, depending on local regulations. (Engadget has also asked Lyft about its masking policy in New York.)

COVID-19 case numbers have been falling in NYC since a sixth wave hit the city in July, The New York Times notes. Although she removed the mask mandate, Hochul encouraged the state's residents to get a booster shot that targets the Omicron variant. The Food and Drug Administration authorized Omicron inoculations last month.

Google has announced a slew of Android updates that should make phones and tablets more useful for many people. One of the more notable changes is for Nearby Share, Google's version of Apple's AirDrop, which should make transferring files between your own Android devices a cinch. After you opt in to the self-share feature, your Android devices will automatically accept files from each other, even if the screen is off. So, you may soon no longer need to email a file from your phone to your tablet or Chromebook. The self-share option should be available in the next few weeks.

It's not clear when you'll be able to check out some of the other freshly announced features, which include more accessibility settings. Android has a feature called sound notifications that's designed to help those in the deaf and hard of hearing community. When the feature is enabled, it can listen for sounds like fire alarms, door knocks and running water, and alert the user to them with a visual notification or vibration on a phone or watch. Soon, users will be able to add custom sounds to their alert library. They'll be able to record audio from appliances and so forth, and receive notifications when their device hears that sound again.

Google TV now has a selection of movies with audio descriptions. You can find these through Google Assistant by saying “Search audio description movies.” Moreover, Google is adding a multi-pinning option to Meet video calls. This will enable users to pin feeds from, for instance, the speaker and a sign language interpreter — or maybe a friend to see their reaction to what's being said a little more clearly.

SharePlay-style options are coming to Meet as well. You'll be able to watch YouTube videos and play games with up to 100 friends and family members simultaneously. Google says this feature is rolling out to Android phones and tablets.

On top of those changes, you can expect updated Drive and Keep widgets, more Emoji Kitchen mashups on Gboard and a way to stuff more emoji into your messages with a tap (or, in other words, "emojify" whatever you're typing). On Wear OS devices, there will be a new Keep tile — with the option to dictate a note or checklist — while Snapchat's Bitmoji is coming to watch faces.

YouTube is already a key destination for folks who want to learn a skill or find out more about a topic. The platform will add more educational features, including a way for creators to offer structured video courses. As such, creators wouldn't need to direct their fans to other sites or apps (like Masterclass) where they sell those kinds of materials. YouTube would be able to take a cut of course sales too.

These courses are intended as "in-depth, structured learning experiences," according to YouTube. Creators will be able to charge for courses or offer them for free. Videos that are part of a paid course won't have any ads and can be played in the background (in other words, you can treat them like a premium podcast). Courses will initially be available in beta next year in the US and South Korea. YouTube plans to expand the feature to more countries at a later time.

To bolster educational content on the platform and perhaps help people taking a course test their knowledge, YouTube will also roll out a feature called Quizzes. Creators will be able to add a quiz to their community tab, where they can ask viewers about something they discussed in a video. A beta version of the feature will be available in the coming months, and all creators who have the community tab will be able to use Quizzes next year.

On top of those features, YouTube announced a new embedded player for education apps. The company says Player for Education omits potential distractions, including ads, recommendations and external links. It added that the player improves on the one used in Google Classroom to deliver "an even better YouTube experience." At the outset, US edtech companies such as EDpuzzle, Purdue University and Purdue Global will use the player.

Rivian and Mercedes-Benz are teaming up with the aim of building large electric vans more quickly. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a strategic partnership and set up a joint venture manufacturing company. They're hoping to use their shared resources to reduce costs and make electric vans more affordable while ramping up production.

The goal is to produce two vans on common assembly lines. One would be based on Mercedes‑Benz Vans' VAN.EA architecture. The other would center around Rivian's second-gen Rivian Light Van platform. The two sides will also look into "further options for increased synergies."

The companies aim to build the EVs in a new factory at an existing Mercedes-Benz site in central or eastern Europe, starting in a few years. The plan isn't set in stone, though, as Rivian and Mercedes-Benz haven't reached a binding agreement and they would need to clear regulatory hurdles.

“We’re delighted to be partnering with Mercedes‑Benz on this project," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said in a statement. "Mercedes‑Benz is one of the world’s best known and respected automotive companies, and we believe that together we will produce truly remarkable electric vans which will not only benefit our customers, but the planet.”

Both companies have already been working on electric vans, with Rivian having an agreement to build 100,000 of them for Amazon. However, Rivian has endured some turmoil in recent months. It's not building EVs quickly enough to meet demand. It recently laid off six percent of employees in order to funnel more resources into building vehicles. The company is setting up a second EV factory in Georgia, but production won't start there until 2024. Teaming up with Mercedes to create common production lines could help it to build electric vans faster.

From Mercedes' perspective, this is part of a broader strategy to accelerate the transition to electric vans. The company said it is revamping its European production setup and that, by the middle of this decade, all of its new vans will be entirely electric.