Fans of shows like Andor and The Last of Us who are looking forward to finding out whether their faves will triumph at the Emmy Awards will have to remain patient for an extra few months. The Television Academy and Fox have announced that the Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony will now take place on January 15th — Martin Luther King Jr. Day — rather than September 18th.

That marks a delay of four months and it means the ceremony will air one week after the Golden Globes. The Television Academy and its broadcast partner have pushed back the Creative Arts Emmy Awards to the same weekend as the Golden Globes as well (an edited version of that two-night ceremony will air on January 13th).

The delay isn't unexpected. Rumors have been swirling for weeks that the Academy and Fox would have to postpone the Emmy Awards amid writers and actors strikes that have ground Hollywood productions to a halt. With no Writers Guild of America members available to write jokes for the Emmys host and actors in SAG-AFTRA unable to attend awards ceremonies due to union rules about promoting struck work, a rescheduling seemed inevitable at this point.

Actors and writers are on strike in an attempt to secure fair contracts with Hollywood studios that protect the future of their professions. One of the major points of contention is that both unions want to safeguard their members against advancements in artificial intelligence that could harm their employment prospects. For instance, SAG-AFTRA claims the studios wanted to scan actors and have the right to use their digital likenesses in perpetuity in exchange for a single day of pay.

As has been the case for several years now, shows and television movies from streaming services are competing with those from broadcast networks for Emmy glory. HBO and Max racked up a combined 127 nominations thanks to the likes of The Last of Us and Succession. Netflix has 103 and Apple (with a big helping hand from reigning Emmys champ Ted Lasso) has 52. Thanks in large part to its various Star Wars shows, Disney+ has 40 Emmy nominations this year.

For several years, 8BitDo has offered a dongle that lets folks connect modern controllers to the NES Classic Edition, SNES Classic and Sega Genesis Mini. The latest version of the Retro Receiver brings support for the likes of the Switch Pro Controller, Xbox Elite Series 2 and the DualSense Edge to older hardware in the form of the PlayStation 1 and the PlayStation 2. The $25 dongle includes Windows 10 and 11 support as well.

The device supports lag-free gaming, 8BitDo claims, as well as controller vibration functions. You'll be able to link controllers to it using Bluetooth or a wired connection.

Along with Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo's peripherals, the Retro Receiver works with many of 8BitDo's own controllers. The supported gamepads are:

• DualShock 4, DualSense and DualSense Edge

• Xbox One, Series, Elite Series 2, Elite Series 2 - Core, and Adaptive Controller

• Wii U Pro and Switch Pro Controllers

• 8BitDo Ultimate Bluetooth, Pro 2, SN30 Pro+, SN30 Pro, SN30 Pro for Android, Lite 2, Lite SE, and Lite Controllers; Arcade Stick v3; PS1 Modkit and PS1 Classic Modkit

There is a way to connect such controllers to a PS3 using 8BitDo's previous Retro Receiver, but having a plug-and-play option for Sony's first two consoles is a welcome move. It's especially great to see 8BitDo including support for the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which could make it possible for some folks to play classic PS1 and PS2 games on original hardware for the first time.

Epic Games has lost an attempt to force Apple to change its App Store payment practices sooner rather than later. The Fortnite maker asked the Supreme Court to overturn a US Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that delayed an injunction against Apple over App Store rules. However, Justice Elena Kagan denied the request without providing an explanation, as Bloomberg reports.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals originally upheld the injunction in April. However, it suspended the injunction in July so Apple could take the case to the Supreme Court. 

Following a blockbuster trial between Apple and Epic Games in 2021, a lower-court judge ruled that Apple violated California's Unfair Competition law by blocking third-party developers from directing users to alternative payment options. The judge issued the injunction to stop that practice.

For the last three years, the companies have been battling over the issue of in-app payments on iOS. Epic raised the ire of Apple (and Google) when it told mobile Fortnite players they'd get a discount on the in-game V-Bucks currency if they bypassed the iOS and Android payment systems. Apple and Google take up to a 30 percent cut of in-app transactions on iOS and Android.

The mobile platform holders swiftly yanked Fortnite from their respective app stores, Epic sued them both and the legal battles are still rumbling on. The Google case (in which Match Group is involved as a plaintiff) is set to go to trial this November.

Regardless of what happens in the US, Apple and Google are already being forced to open up their platforms to third-party payments systems in certain markets, such as South Korea and the Netherlands. It has also been reported that Apple plans to allow third-party app stores on the iPhone as soon as next year, in large part to comply with incoming European Union rules. Epic is already prepared for that, as its own mobile app store is ready to go.

Lyft plans to kill off surge pricing in an attempt to boost its rider numbers. On the company's second-quarter earnings call, CEO David Risher admitted the controversial practice is a "a bad form of price raising" that riders loathe "with a fiery passion."

Surge pricing, which Lyft calls Prime Time, typically kicks in when there aren't enough drivers to meet demand. The idea is that off-duty drivers will smell an opportunity to make more money and be more inclined to hop in their car and work for a while. However, riders by and large do not like surge pricing at all.

"We're trying to really get rid of it," Risher said. "Because we've got such good driver supply, which we've worked really hard to get, it's decreased significantly."

A Lyft spokesperson told TechCrunch that its supply of drivers is the highest it's been in three years (since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic). Its driver base has grown by 20 percent year-over-year and the number of average hours each driver works is at a new high, beating 2019 levels. This, Risher said, has helped to reduce the share of rides impacted by surge pricing by 35 percent compared with the previous quarter.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, that means Lyft is making less money. "But it's good for our riders, and it's good for our overall market itself," Risher noted.

Lyft has been lowering prices to stay competitive with Uber and entice riders to use its service. The company's revenue per rider dipped by five percent from the previous quarter. However, the number of active riders grew by nine percent.

Samsung's latest slate of Galaxy devices arrives on August 11, but there's still time to lock in a pre-order to get free perks like a storage upgrade and gift card. The company's new flagship foldable, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, is included in the offer. If you pre-order one, you can get double the storage (jumping from 256GB up to 512GB) and a $200 Amazon gift card at no extra cost. That should take some of the sting out of the $1,800 price.

In our review of the Galaxy Z Fold 5, we gave the device a score of 86. We feel that Samsung is still making the best foldable out there. However, the company could be doing more with the format (such as trying to bring down the price) as its momentum in the space seems to be slowing.

The big change this year is the new Flex Hinge. It's smaller than the hinge in previous Fold devices and it helps make the handset slightly thinner. That's because it allows the phone to close properly and get rid of the gap between the two halves.

Samsung has upgraded many other components. There's a brighter main display and a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 that helps to improve the performance. Two new gestures could make it easier to get the phone to do what you want. Battery life is solid as well — the Galaxy Z Fold 5 lasted for nearly 20 hours on a single charge in our video rundown test.

Although Samsung has stuck with the same camera setup as last year's model, you can still take good quality photos with the Galaxy Z Fold 5. It's also disappointing that there's no option to store an S Pen inside the device and that it's still fairly bulky. Still, if you're looking for a foldable phone, we reckon this is the best one out there.

In case the Galaxy Z Flip 5 is more compelling to you, there's a pre-order offer for that device too. Again, you'll get 512GB of storage rather than 256GB, as well as a $150 Amazon gift card if you pre-order the $1,000 foldable.

Our review of the Z Flip 5 is in progress, but we felt it had some promise after our initial hands-on. The device has a larger and more useful external display compared with the previous models. It should be easier to carry out actions like controlling media playback and dashing off a text without having to open up the main screen. The Z Flip 5 has the new Flex Hinge as well.

Elsewhere, pre-order the Galaxy Tab S9+ and you'll get (you guessed it) the same free storage upgrade. The tablet — which includes a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a 12.4-inch AMOLED display and protection from dust and water — costs $1,000. Those interested in the Book Cover Keyboard can also save 50 percent when they buy it through Amazon.

As for the Galaxy Watch 6, that doesn't come with a free storage upgrade. However, if you lock in a pre-order now, you'll get a $50 Amazon gift card and fabric band at no extra cost. The deal applies to both the Bluetooth model (which costs $300) and the $350 LTE version.

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

Slack is getting a new look starting today. The service is rolling out a redesign aimed at helping folks stay focused and get things done by streamlining the interface. 

Perhaps the most obvious change is to the sidebar. On the far left, you'll no longer see a tile for each of your workspaces if you're logged in to more than one. Those have been collapsed into a single tile, and Slack is using the freed-up space for new navigation options.

Slack

The sidebar now includes buttons for Home, DMs (direct messages), Activity, Later and More sections, along with a search icon and a new Create button. The Home view is much like the Slack you'll be used to. From here, you'll be able to access your various channels, unread items, drafts, apps and more.

It looks like the DMs section will neatly bring together your direct message conversations and make them easier to access. Your DM list will show the most recent message from each chat, and you can choose whether to see only unread messages.

Slack

The Activity feed combines your threads, mentions and reactions into a single view, though each of those has a dedicated tab within the Activity section. The Later section, meanwhile, has tabs for in-progress, completed and archived actions. The More section is where you'll find tools such as apps and workflows, canvases and huddles.

As for the Create button, that replaces the draft message option. From here, you can whip up a message, huddle, canvas or new channel. Elsewhere, there's a new feature that allows you to hover over an icon for one of the dedicated views (i.e. DMs or Activity) to take a peek at what's happening without having to drift away from your current task.

Slack says it's rolling out some device-specific updates as well. In the iPhone app, you'll see tiles at the top of the screen that will take you to the likes of your unreads and threads with a single tap. You'll also be able to swipe through all your unreads and perhaps catch up on things more quickly. Last but not least, Slack is enabling new themes with a more detailed and customizable color scheme.

After months of testing, Google has announced that all group chats that have RCS enabled in its Android and Wear OS Messages app now have end-to-end encryption (E2EE) enabled by default. That should help keep prying eyes away from your chats as only the group participants will be able to read your messages, as long as they're not sharing screenshots or showing their phone to someone next to them (there's not much you can do about that, unfortunately).

Google notes that RCS will now be enabled by default for new and existing users, as long as they haven't previously switched off RCS in their settings. So, maybe make sure that no one in your group has opted out of RCS before you start sharing your most private information.

E2EE has been available in one-on-one chats for some time and enabling it for group conversations is a welcome move. However, Android and iOS don't exactly play nicely together on this front. Google has been trying in vain to get Apple to support RCS, but the latter is quite content with using its own iMessage service for encrypted messaging. So, you'll only be able to embrace E2EE chats if every member of your group is on either Android or iOS, unless you opt to use a third-party app like Signal.

The Pokémon Company had a bunch of updates to share during its latest Pokémon Presents stream. For one thing, it shared a new trailer for Detective Pikachu Returns, a long-awaited sequel that's coming to Nintendo Switch on October 6th.

For the uninitiated, Detective Pikachu Returns recasts the franchise's mascot as a hard-boiled, tough-talking detective. Detective Pikachu and his current partner Tim Goodman (who can actually understand Pikachu) get to the bottom of a string of unusual incidents with the help of some other Pokémon and humans, who live side-by-side in Ryme City. In between, Pikachu is drinking coffee or trying to find out just what happened to his missing partner, Harry (Tim's dad).

The cute trailer offers a look at some gameplay. You'll need to get your thinking cap on as you look for clues and use a casebook to solve cases. Other Pokémon will help you out by sniffing out clues or punching through walls. If the latest clip has you excited to play the game, you may be pleased to learn that pre-orders for Detective Pikachu Returns are now open.

Elsewhere, The Pokémon Company revealed that the first half of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s major paid expansion will arrive on September 13th. In "The Teal Mask," you'll go on a school trip to the land of Kitakami and meet Pokémon that aren't available in the Paldea region. The second half of the DLC, titled "The Indigo Disk," is slated to arrive this winter.

On top of that, Mew and Mewtwo are coming to Scarlet and Violet as part of an event. You'll be able to add Mew to your team and battle the formidable Mewtwo.

Meanwhile, a couple more Pokémon games are now available on Nintendo Switch Online. Those with the base membership can now play Pokémon Trading Card Game, which hit Game Boy Color back in 2000. If you're a Nintoendo switch Online + Expansion Pack member, you should also now have access to Pokémon Stadium 2 from the Nintendo 64.

Since last year, Netflix has run a Discord bot that helps people find shows and movies to watch together based on what's available in their location. The company is expanding the "Hey, Netflix" bot's capabilities today with a text-based game.

This is the first time Netflix is bringing a game along these lines to Discord. As you might imagine, it ties into something that you'll be able to stream on Netflix soon, an action movie called Heart of Stone that stars Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. The film will land on Netflix this Friday.

In Heart of Stone: Maze of Odds, you'll take on the role of a double agent (similar to Gadot's character in the film). Netflix says you'll need to quickly make decisions in "action-driven situations." Based on some details that Netflix shared in advance, it seems that you'll need to choose between some preset options, much like the interactive TV shows and movies it has released in the past.

Intriguingly, Netflix says Heart of Stone: Maze of Odds will be different each time you play it. The Discord bot randomly chooses scenarios from a bank of situations. Additionally, you'll be able to play it solo or ask friends to join in for multiplayer action. The game includes collectibles for you to pick up along the way too. Lastly, while Discord users around the world can check out the game, it's worth noting that it's only available in English.

Netflix has been making a big push into games in general over the last couple of years. Last month, it released Oxenfree II, the first game from one of its in-house studios. The company also just debuted a game controller app for iPhone and iPad. As such, you'll soon be able to play its games (which are typically included with a Netflix subscription) on compatible TVs as well as phones and tablets.

GM says it will support vehicle-to-home (V2H) bidirectional charging on all of its electric vehicles with Ultium battery technology by model year 2026. The first vehicles that will support the tech include the 2024 model year Chevrolet Silverado EV RST, GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1, Chevrolet Blazer EV, Chevy Equinox EV, Cadillac Lyriq and Cadillac Escalade IQ — the company is set to reveal the latter on August 9th. There's no indication as to when the upcoming Ultium-based Chevy Bolt will support V2H.

Severalautomakers are adopting V2H technology, which enables owners to power their home in a pinch using their EV. It's an option that can come in very useful during a blackout or even to save money by drawing from the EV's battery when electrical grid prices are high. You can still charge your EV by connecting it to your home's power supply, of course.

Last year, GM announced a spin-off business called GM Energy that includes a division focused on home energy management solutions such as V2H. In June, GM Energy revealed some of its residential hardware, which includes systems with V2H support, so it was only a matter of time until GM started enabling the tech on its vehicles.

Owners of Ultium EVs will be able to manage the transfer of energy between their vehicle and home using the GM Energy Cloud software platform. GM says it will reveal more details about when it will start enabling the tech in its vehicles at a later date.