Apple is prepping a software update for the three-year-old iPhone 12s after French regulators alleged the phone exceeds proper radiation levels. France stopped selling the smartphone after recommendations from the country’s radiation watchdog (ANFR).

The software update won’t adjust radiation levels but will “accommodate the protocol used by French regulators.” (I am not sure how that works, either.) Apple believes the software patch will be enough to allow the iPhone 12s to sail through future radiation tests, saying it looks forward “to the iPhone 12 continuing to be available in France.”

Belgium and Denmark don’t have the same worries as France. Belgian minister for digitalization, Mathieu Michel, said local tests were “reassuring” and recommended against a suspension on sales. Denmark’s Safety Authority followed suit, suggesting it had no concerns regarding the iPhone 12’s radiation levels.

— Mat Smith

​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

The first-ever party-based RPG is getting a serious facelift

Apple isn’t perfect on environmental issues, but it’s depressingly ahead of its peers

The best gaming mouse in 2023

Amazon’s Echo Pop smart speaker drops to $23

The Morning After: The iPhone 15 kills off Lightning. Plus, AI-generated Coke

The week’s biggest news meets Engadget’s lens.

Engadget

Our spin-off video series continues to let Mat do his thing, whether that’s throwing his iPhone at the camera, complaining about ’00s movies or writing about himself in third person. Our short-but-sweet edition this week covers iPhone 15, the return of movie rentals (kind of), and Sony’s Aibo dogs getting a second chance. There’s a new video every Saturday morning.

Watch it here.

Spider-Man 2 is following Sony’s sequel playbook

A two-hour demo showed off new tricks.

Sony

How do you outdo a well-received open-world game with its sequel? Engadget’s Nathan Ingraham played two hours of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at a press event earlier this week, and it seems the answer is go bigger. That’s the same tactic used by Sony’s cadre of development teams for The Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn and God of War.

Because the world of New York in this game is almost twice as big as the original, with the addition of Brooklyn and Queens, finding new ways for players to get around was a major focus for developer Insomniac. Enter the web wings, a tool for gliding around the city, catching wind tunnels and updrafts that sling you at high speed. It’s not meant to replace the core web-slinging mechanic but augment it. And gliding seems to be the new having a horse in video game trends.

Continue reading.

Meta starts testing Horizon Worlds on mobile and the web

A small number of mobile and web users can now access Meta’s metaverse.

Meta has announced Super Rumble, the first game out of its in-house studio Ouro Interactive, is now available to a small number of mobile users through the Meta Quest app on Android. It’s also making its way to the app on iOS devices in the coming weeks. When Meta launched the first-person shooter, it said Super Rumble would be one of the first worlds available when its new app came out. It also said the game will feature cross-platform play on mobile, the web or a VR headset.

Continue reading.

Engadget Podcast: iPhone 15 and Apple Watch Series 9 hands-on

We also dive into our review of Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6.

This week, Cherlynn gives us her on-the-ground thoughts from Apple’s iPhone 15 launch event. It turns out the iPhone 15 Pro’s titanium case is noticeably lighter. (Which we hope was the point.) Engadget’s Malek Saleh also joins to discuss her review of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 and Dyson’s ridiculous Zone air filter mask/headphones.

Listen here

This week, Nintendo's Direct livestream showcased a bunch of new games for the Switch, and an awful lot of them featured the company mascot (and movie star) Mario, if not his brother Luigi,Princess Peach and moreDonkey Kong. And this is all on top of the incomingSuper Mario Wonder.

To start, the company is bringing another classic Mario RPG to the Switch. The company plans to release an updated version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the console in 2024, 20 years after the original game debuted on the GameCube. That’s not the only game getting remade: Mario vs. Donkey Kong, originally a GameBoy Advance game, is on its way and we’re waiting on Super Mario RPG’s remake too.

Nintendo

Nintendo revealed it’s also bringing back one of its oldest hits, space racer F-Zero, but with a twist. F-Zero 99 is the first new game in the series in nearly 20 years. We’ve had battle royale Tetris and Mario. Now, it’s F-Zero. 99 cars on a single track — chaos ensues. It’s available to play now for Switch Online subscribers.

And if you’re more a PlayStation gamer, then Sony’s State of Play revealed new PS5 colors and a Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth release date — and trailer!

— Mat Smith

​

The biggest stories you might have missed

The new COVID-19 vaccines are here for the fall

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth will hit PS5 on February 29, 2024

Baby Steps inches toward a summer 2024 release

Bose debuts QuietComfort Ultra Headphones and Earbuds with spatial audio

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

This is apparently an electric microscooter

Honda’s Motocompacto will retail for ‘under $995’ this November.

Honda

This is Honda’s Motocompacto, a throwback all-electric rideable inspired by the short-lived Honda Motocompo scooter of the ’80s. Yes, it looks like Muji toaster or something. Honda says its aluminum frame and wheels keep it “lightweight,” but at 41 pounds, it’s firmly in the same weight class as regular e-bikes. And with a range of “up to 12 miles,” it’s not getting you very far either. After you’ve used its 12-mile range, it takes 3.5 hours to rejoice.

Continue reading.

How to update your iPhone to iOS 17

When Monday comes around.

After several months of betas, iOS 17 is about ready to launch to the public. The new software, landing Monday, September 18, includes significant upgrades to Messages, FaceTime, keyboard and more. FaceTime adds video voicemails, so you can let your friends see you as you leave them a message. iOS 17 also works with tvOS 17, so you can take FaceTime calls on Apple TV, using your iPhone or iPad as a camera. The update also includes a new StandBy mode that transforms your iPhone into a smart display when it’s charging on the horizontal. Meanwhile, Contact Posters give you customizable full-screen profiles that flash on your phone’s screen when friends and family call.

Continue reading.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 review

More of the same.

Engadget

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 6 is a modest upgrade from its predecessor, the Galaxy Watch 5. There are some health tracking improvements and a slightly sleeker design. The caveat is that the Watch 6’s predecessors, dating back to the Watch 4, will have access to all these updates. So, if you have one of the previous two models, you might not need to upgrade.

Continue reading.

The Angels face the Marlins in MLB’s first regular-season virtual ballpark game

They just made baseball even duller.

Major League Baseball is ready to test its virtual ballpark for a regular-season game. Fans can enter the digital stadium on Wednesday, September 20, to watch the Tampa Bay Rays host the Los Angeles Angels.

The league debuted the digital park earlier this summer for a celebrity softball game, but next week’s game will mark the first non-exhibition game to deploy the metaverse-like digital park. The entire setup sounds like something you’d eventually use with a VR or AR headset, like the Meta Quest or Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro. While it may be a precursor to those more immersive experiences, you’ll access this game on flat screens through a web browser.

Continue reading.

The ALPHV/BlackCat ransomware group claimed responsibility for the MGM Resorts cyber outage on Tuesday, and it apparently took the group only 10 minutes on a phone call to glean the information needed to shut down systems and slot machines — not the slot machines! — at casinos owned by MGM Resorts.

“All ALPHV ransomware group did to compromise MGM Resorts was hop on LinkedIn, find an employee, then call the Help Desk,” the organization wrote in a post on X. Those details came from ALPHV but have not been independently confirmed by security researchers.

MGM Resorts didn’t respond to a request for comment but said on Tuesday that “Our resorts, including dining, entertainment and gaming, are currently operational.”

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

Unity will start charging developers each time their game is installed

Adobe Premiere Pro is getting an AI tool to cut your accidental ‘ums’

Apple’s USB-C iPhones bring more cable confusion

How to choose the best pizza oven in 2023

Sony’s big PS5 update lets you turn off the startup beep

The next Nintendo Direct is set for today at 10AM ET​​

You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

Coca-Cola made an AI-generated soda

The only people who asked for this are the PR execs.

Coca Cola

Coca-Cola launched a new flavor co-created by artificial intelligence. The company’s calling it the soda “from the future,” and it’s available for a limited time in both regular and zero sugar. It’s called Y3000, with a flavor described as resembling a raspberry slushy. Coke also tasked AI to help design the artwork on the slim can, which looks like a Now That’s What I Call Music CD case from the early ’00s. Inspired.

Continue reading.

America’s largest independent video store is taking its DVD-by-mail service nationwide

Your application has to be manually approved, though.

Talking of blasts from the past, want to rent a DVD? Netflix is winding up that part of its business later this month, but if you’re one of its subscribers sad to see the service go, there’s now another rent-by-mail option. Scarecrow, the largest independent video store in the US, has launched its own rent-by-mail service, which will send DVDs and Blu-ray discs straight to your door. Scarecrow has 140,000 titles — comparably, Netflix has around 5,000 titles in its US catalog, according to CordCutting — most of which you can rent by mail. There are exceptions, however, including rare and out-of-print videos, which require a security deposit, newly released movies and adult titles.

Continue reading.

Microsoft reveals its underwhelming Xbox Game Pass Core library

It’s a solid, if not especially exciting, blend of first- and third-party games.

Xbox Live Gold will be no more after today. Replacing it is a new tier of Game Pass called Xbox Game Pass Core. It’s a different offering to Games with Gold in that there will be a rotating library of a few dozen games. There are some solid, if cheap / old games, including Vampire Survivors, Celeste, Doom Eternal and Dishonored 2, but it’s not the most exciting selection assembled for this base version of Game Pass.

Continue reading.

Farewell Lightning cable. I will miss you when I inevitably get rid of all my cables, only to forget my MacBook wireless keyboard and trackpad still need you. Yes, the iPhone is going USB-C for 2023. That’s true across the iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. And AirPods Pro.

Apple

Apple hasn’t changed the screen sizes of this year’s iPhones. The base iPhone 15 and the Pro have 6.1-inch displays, while the Plus and Pro Max have 6.7-inch screens. All the 2023 family now get the dynamic island display cutout that debuted on last year’s iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 15 hardware has an all-new design with rounded edges. Apple has introduced a new camera system to the iPhone 15, which includes a 48MP main camera, but the most impressive imaging upgrades are just for the Pro phones.

Touching on the most-specced out device, thePro Max differentiates itself with some heady camera upgrades I’m very excited to try. You’ll get a 5x telephoto zoom lens with a 120mm focal length equivalent — a substantial jump from 3x zoom of the iPhone 15 Pro (and last year’s models). Apparently, this was achieved withtetraprisms.

On the side of the iPhone 15 Pro, there’s a new Action button that replaces the old Mute switch. This allows users to quickly access features like the camera, flashlight, Voice Memos and more. You can also configure it to activate your own shortcuts, with a new press-and-hold gesture, featuring haptic feedback and visual cues from the Dynamic Island, to ensure you know when a command goes through.

Both Pro phones will get a newA17 Pro chip, capable of ray tracing graphics, and Apple is teasing that AAA games, like Death Stranding, Resident Evil Village and Assassin’s Creed Mirage (more on that one below), will come to the iPhone 15, running natively.

We’ve got more highlights from the event below.

— Mat Smith

You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

Apple unveils the A17 Pro, a 3nm chip powering the iPhone 15 Pro

Apple discontinues the iPhone 13 mini, its last small phone worth owning

Apple is ditching leather

JackRabbit’s XG e-bike adds more range, power, fun and expense

Apple Watch Series 9 and Ultra 2 can handle Siri requests without your iPhone

The S9 chip and neural engine provide more power and longer battery life.

Engadget

Apple revealedtwo new watches this year. The Series 9 features overall performance boosts and a new processor, the S9 chip, which promises 18-hour battery life. Apple has also added a gesture to the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2:Double Tap. This lets you control various system functions by tapping your thumb and index finger together twice quickly. You can use Double Tap to answer or end calls, snooze alarms, play / pause music or start and stop timers.

The hardware might not be entirely game-changing, but the software is shaping up to offer a more usable interface than ever before, at least according to my time so far with the beta version. The premiumApple Watch Ultra 2 offers a brighter screen (3,000 nits!) and, according to Apple, will top out at 36 hours of battery life on one charge.

Continue reading.

Assassin’s Creed Mirage preview

A throwback in the best of ways.

Ubisoft

Assassin’s Creed Mirage is blessedly billed as a return to the series’ leaner early days, when Ubisoft was restricted by PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 hardware. After a few hours of hands-on time across three sections of the new game, it feels like that’s the case. Mirage largely takes place in ninth-century Baghdad, a couple of centuries before the Holy Land setting of the original Assassin’s Creed, but around the same time as AC Valhalla (Mirage protagonist Basim made his first appearance in that game). Assassin’s Creed Mirage will arrive on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC on October 5.

Continue reading.

iOS 17 lands as a free update on September 18

If you bought an iPhone after 2018.

The latest iPhone software update will be available next week, on Monday, September 18. The public preview for iOS 17 has been available since June and has already shown off a number of design refinements, which Apple recapped during its keynote. Those include user-definable outgoing call screens, so you can pick what people see when you call them, and an option to send incoming calls to voicemail and read a transcription of them instead. Users will also be able to send quick voice or video messages if someone doesn’t pick up their FaceTime calls. You can see our in-depthiOS 17 preview right here.

Continue reading.

Intel’s Thunderbolt 5 could be the cable upgrade we’ve been waiting for

The single PC cable dream lives on!

Up to three times the bandwidth of Thunderbolt 4. Support for multiple 8K displays, as well as gaming monitors running at up to 540Hz. And 240 watts of charging power. These are key features of Thunderbolt 5, Intel’s latest stab at creating the ultimate PC cable. Great, so my iPhone USB-C cable is already going to be defunct in a year or two…

Continue reading.

​​

Apple’s annual iPhone event kicks off today, so if you can’t stand the company’s presentations or devices, you might want to disconnect this afternoon. But for anyone interested in what the most influential tech hardware company is doing, expect to seea new iPhone… obviously.

All the iPhone 15 models (except for perhaps a new SE) could shift from the notch to the Dynamic Island cutout, which debuted in the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. There were rumors of an iPhone Ultra, but we’re now expecting that next year.

Engadget

Rumors also suggest the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max could switch to titanium frames from stainless steel. This upgrade could make the new pro hardware “stronger, lighter and more premium,” according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. The Pro Max model could well get a camera upgrade to a new periscope lens, using a prism to fold light, leading to an optical zoom of 5x to 6x without making the phone beefier.

The company may phase out the Lightning port with the iPhone 15, making a long-awaited switch to USB-C and addressing European Union rules regarding unified charging ports. We may also see USB-C friendly AirPod cases too, if not entirely new AirPods.

Expect minor Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra updates too, with a shift to the S9 chip, marking the product’s first real processor upgrade since 2020. However, watchOS 10 — arguably the biggest software update so far for the wearable — should change how we use the Apple Watch.

We’ll be there in person, reporting and handling all the new hardware, and you can watch alongright here.

– Mat Smith

You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

What we bought: The self-emptying litter box that’ll also empty your bank account

Hitting the Books: Meet Richard Arkwright, the world’s first tech titan

Apple event: How to watch the iPhone 15 reveal

Forza Motorsport preview: A warm welcome for casual racing fans

Logitech’s newest webcam has a giant arm

It’s a crowdfunded project.

Logitech

Logitech just announced a new webcam called the Reach, with a flexible and articulating arm. There’s a button for vertical movement and lossless zoom up to 4.3x, with a grip to move the camera along the vertical plane. Logitech’s being a bit cagey about pricing and availability, but there’s a survey on the official site that indicates a discounted price of $300 to $400 for early adopters. As a note, the Streamcam costs around $180 by itself. The Reach won’t be sold via official means: Logitech is turning to Indiegogo Enterprise to fund the camera. Ah yes, the poor struggling startup that is 41-year-old Logitech, with revenues of over $5 billion in the last year alone.

Continue reading.

The Mercedes-Benz Concept CLA Class mixes big range with style

400-plus miles of range.

Mercedes Benz

Sure, this is a concept car. Gorgeous, presumably insanely expensive to build, but it also teases vehicles that could change everything you’ve come to expect about acceptable range from an electric car. The Concept CLA inherits a lot from the not-for-sale Vision EQXX, but this car is a lot more ready for production and should be a lot more affordable. The current CLA is one of the most affordable Mercedes-Benz cars you can buy – and this EV might not break the bank, either.

Continue reading.

The best e-readers for 2023

Kindles are no longer your only option.

E-readers combine the best of paper and computers, and while Amazon’s Kindle ecosystem dominates this market, there are some worthy competitors – especially useful if you have an aversion to Amazon’s stranglehold on books. Other companies, particularly Kobo, now make solid ebook readers that might be better for your needs. We tested out some of the best e-readers, and we have some surprising recommendations.

Continue reading.

Apple chips made in the US may still require assembly in Taiwan

The Information says TSMC can only package advanced chips in Taiwan.

Apple chief Tim Cook previously announced the tech giant will purchase chips for its key products from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s (TSMC) new factory in Phoenix, Arizona. It seemed like a huge win for the Biden administration, which signed the CHIPS Act into law last year to boost US manufacturing and lessen its reliance on overseas suppliers. Now, The Information reports that even though the components for Apple’s chips will be manufactured in the US, they’ll still have to be sent back to TSMC’s home country for assembly. The factory in Arizona apparently doesn’t have the facilities to package – the final part of chip assembly – its customers’ more advanced silicon.

Continue reading.

Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. is setting the record straight. After Variety reported earlier this week that an AI-generated track echoing the voices of Drake and The Weeknd could be considered for a Grammy Award in songwriting categories, Mason is insisting that’s not the case.

In an interview with The New York Times only last week, Mason suggested the track would be “absolutely eligible” as the lyrics a human made the lyrics. On Instagram, the Recording Academy CEO has now clarified that the song will not be eligible.

“Even though it was written by a human creator, the vocals were not legally obtained, the vocals were not cleared by the label or the artists and the song is not commercially available and because of that, it’s not eligible,” he said. Sorry robots.

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

Watch The Morning After: Can AI win a Grammy? (Editor: Well, that did not age well.)

Engadget Podcast: Starfield’s failure to launch

Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra review: A little too big, a little too expensive

Apple event rumor roundup: What to expect at the Wonderlust iPhone 15 keynote

Butt-ugly Starfield ship defeats the enemy AI’s perfect aim

iRobot’s new flagship Roombas ship with an updated OS to make cleaning simpler

The best cheap Windows laptops for 2023

Chromebooks aren’t always the answer.

Engadget

Affordable Windows notebooks are great for people who only use a computer to check email, shop online or post on Facebook. They’re also good for kids who have no business putting their sticky little hands on a $2,000 gaming rig. And, depending on what you need them for, these devices can be decent daily drivers, too. Here’s what to look for in a cheap Windows laptop – and some of our recommendations.

Continue reading.

Google’s more durable Pixel Watch 2 goes on pre-order October 4

Expect IP68 water and dust resistance.

Google

Google desperately would love for you to remember that it will announce its own devices after Apple has its turn. Rather than just... holding its own event before Apple’s, Google has instead teased its upcoming devices with short videos. After dripfeeding details about the Pixel 8 lineup, now Google is teasing a new Pixel Watch that will feature IP68 dust and water resistance.

Continue reading.

Watch the first Monarch: Legacy of Monsters trailer

It pits Kurt Russell against Godzilla.

Apple has its fingers in many pies, and now it’s getting into the monster business with an upcoming TV show. The company has released the first trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and while the title might not make it super clear, this is a Godzilla affair. Get lost, Mothra.

Continue reading.

Uber could launch a service similar to TaskRabbit

You may be able to ask an Uber provider to help you mount a TV.

According to Bloomberg, Uber is exploring offering a new TaskRabbit-like service. Developer Steve Moser found code hidden in Uber’s iPhone app for an offering reportedly codenamed Chore. Based on its current iteration, Chore will let you hire “taskers” and specify in the app what you need help with, how long you think it would take and what time you want the tasker to arrive. It’s all pretty similar to TaskRabbit. Like any other unconfirmed feature still in development, Chore may not even make it to public release. If it does, it’ll be a huge new undertaking for Uber.

Continue reading.

There’s no denying Nintendo’s Switch, at 6.5 years, is reaching the end. Nintendo is (finally) gearing up for what’s next and was reportedly showing tech demos of its next-gen system to developers at Gamescom last month.

According to Eurogamer, one of the Switch 2 demos was a beefed-up version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It was apparently a tech demo, showing the world of Hyrule at a higher frame rate and resolution than the existing game.

Engadget

VGC says another tech demo was The Matrix Awakens, running on the dev kit. The captivating tech demo was originally designed to highlight what Unreal Engine 5 can do on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but Nintendo got it working on an early version of its next system. The Switch 2 demo also featured NVIDIA’s DLSS upscaling tech, ray-tracing and visuals comparable to those on the PS5 and Series X. DLSS support is key, as that could help Nintendo run games at higher frame rates and resolution without having to use more powerful components.

Nintendo is expected to release its next console in 2024 – but what will be its unique trick?

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

Instagram’s Threads finally gets search

Samsung adds a 4TB option to its high-speed 990 Pro SSDs

Sega’s summer showcase delivered exciting updates to some of its most iconic franchises

Google reveals the Pixel 8 design ahead of Apple’s iPhone event

Max may offer live sports at no extra cost for several months

Polaroid I-2 review: A return to high-end instant cameras

Chrome’s 15th birthday present is a new design and safety features

Intel joins Apple, Alphabet and Samsung as an Arm investor

What to expect at Apple’s Wonderlust iPhone 15 event

My quest for the perfect productivity mouse

BMW’s terrible heated seats subscription didn’t make it to a second winter

Drivers will no longer have to deal with hardware paywalls in the brand’s cars.

BMW

BMW is one of several automakers that have been nickel and diming customers, with a monthly subscription for heated seats (which already exist in these vehicles) in certain models and territories. The company has dropped that controversial practice to focus on paid software services — it no longer plans to charge drivers extra to use hardware features already in their cars.

Drivers didn’t take to the $18 per month heated seats subscription in the countries where BMW offered that, er, perk. “We thought that we would provide an extra service to the customer by offering the chance to activate that later, but the user acceptance isn’t that high,” Pieter Nota, BMW’s board member for sales and marketing, said.

Continue reading.

iOS apps will publish to the Apple Vision Pro store by default

This should give headset owners access to ‘hundreds of thousands’ of applications.

Engadget

We haven’t heard much about Apple’s mixed-reality headset, the Vision Pro, in recent weeks, but in the runup to Apple’s big event next week, the company has elaborated on the device’s app offerings. It’s announced every iOS app will automatically publish to the Vision Pro store by default, which the company says will give early adopters access to “hundreds of thousands of iPad and iPhone apps.” Most apps can easily run on Vision Pro, but you won’t get a full futuristic experience. Instead, you’ll see what you normally see on your phone or tablet, just blown up on a fake screen before you.

Continue reading.

Walgreens agrees to pay $44 million to Theranos blood test customers

The company used to offer Theranos’ faulty blood tests in its stores.

There was a time when Walgreens championed Theranos’ blood tests and offered them at “wellness centers” in its stores. That was before it came to light that Theranos’ tests were faulty. Now, according to Bloomberg, Walgreens has agreed to pay $44 million to settle a class action lawsuit brought by customers who received flawed Theranos blood tests. A court still has to approve the proposal, but based on the court filing by the plaintiffs, those customers will receive around double their out-of-pocket damages if the terms remain unaltered.

Continue reading.

The European Union has confirmed the first six tech gatekeepers that must follow the rules of its Digital Markets Act (DMA). The names of these companies should be pretty familiar: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft.

The DMA stipulates that gatekeepers can't favor their own services over rivals' offerings and can't keep users locked into their own ecosystems. They have to let third-party entities interoperate with their services in certain situations too. Of course, these incredibly rich companies aren’t going quietly: Microsoft and Apple have already argued that, despite meeting the thresholds the European Commission laid out, Bing, Edge, Microsoft Advertising and iMessage don't qualify as gateways and shouldn't have to comply with the new act.

Apple will likely feel this most. Recent reports suggest the company may allow third-party app stores and sideloading in iOS 17. We’ll have to wait for Apple’s fall iPhone event, which is next week. But spare a thought for iPhone rival Samsung, which wasn’t designated as a gatekeeper. Do you think its execs have FOMO?

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

The biggest stories you might have missed

NYC’s ‘de facto ban’ on Airbnb is already removing listings

GoPro announces Hero 12 Black with AirPods support and better battery life

Samsung unveils its largest 8K TV yet

The Sonos Move 2 portable speaker has double the battery life of its predecessor

China intensifies its crackdown on officials using iPhones

Tesla tops Mozilla's list of 'creepiest' carmakers, but 25 brands failed basic data privacy tests

Logitech's Pebble 2 keyboard and mouse use more recycled plastic

The UE Epicboom delivers a balance of power and portability

Roku lays off 300 workers and removes streaming content to save money

Google's latest Pixel 8 Pro leak shows off colors and not much else.

The 360-degree simulator is now offline

Google

Google has revealed its upcoming Pixel 8 Pro again, just like every otherPixelmodel. This time, the leak comes via Google's own 360-degree simulator, which lets you see the device from every angle, with little yellow dots showing different sensors and ports. It doesn't list any specs, but we already have a good idea about those thanks to other leaks. The Pixel 8 Pro's camera array should include a 50-megapixel main camera that lets in 50 percent more light. Expect to hear all the official specs in early October.

Continue reading.

The Grammys will consider viral song with Drake and The Weeknd AI vocals for awards after all

'Heart on my Sleeve' may be eligible for songwriting honors.

The person behind an AI-generated song that went viral earlier this year has submitted the track for Grammy Awards consideration. The Recording Academy has stated that such works aren't eligible for certain gongs. However, Ghostwriter, the pseudonymous person behind "Heart on My Sleeve," has submitted the track in the best rap song and song of the year categories, according to Variety. Those are songwriting honors, and the Academy has suggested songs mostly written by flesh and blood could still make it – even if the recording is largely AI-generated. It seems there's one major roadblock as things stand, though. For a song to be eligible for a Grammy, it needs to have "general distribution" across the US through the likes of brick-and-mortar stores, online retailers and streaming services.

Continue reading.

Nintendo has no plans for a Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom expansion

The developers say they’ve crammed their big ideas into the game already.

Nintendo

Bad news: “There are no plans for additional content,” Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma told Famitsu. The team behind the Switch hit said this is because they already shoved all of their major gameplay ideas into the base game. Tears of the Kingdom director Hidemaro Fujibayashi said his team is pondering what its “next fun experience” may look like. However, that won’t be motorcycles in TotK.

Continue reading.​​

“We are engaged in a race against time to protect the children of our country from the dangers of AI,” the attorneys general wrote in an open letter to Congress, asking for increased protective measures against AI-enhanced child sexual abuse images.

Using image generators like Dall-E and Midjourney to create child sexual abuse materials isn’t a problem, as the software has guardrails to stop those prompts. However, when open-source versions of the software and similar tools without guardrails or oversight arrive, it could be a major issue. Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated that AI tools would benefit from government intervention to mitigate their risk.

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!​​

The biggest stories you might have missed

Disney+ tempts new and returning subscribers with a $2-per-month teaser offer

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor patch promises 'solid 60 fps' performance on consoles

Cyberpunk adventure game Stray will be adapted as an animated movie

Facebook’s News tab is going away in the UK, France and Germany

Alone in the Dark reboot delayed to the oh-so-spooky month of January

China plans $40 billion fund for its chip industry

United Airlines grounded flights for an hour after a bad software update

A ‘widespread slowdown’ paused departures.

United Airlines issued a nationwide ground stop because of a "computer issue." "United Airlines asked the FAA to pause the airline’s departures nationwide," the Federal Aviation Administration told Engadget. United said a software update "caused a widespread slowdown" in its technology systems, but airborne flights still carried on to their destinations during the pause.

United had a similar issue in the UK just last week. An air traffic control glitch led to the cancellation of a fifth of UK departures and 27 percent of flights due to arrive the day of the issue.

Continue reading.

The Android logo gets a new look and a 3D bugdroid

Google's quarterly Android update adds some useful accessibility features.

Android

Android 14 is fast approaching. But before Google releases the next big version of the mobile operating system alongside its latest Pixel devices, the company has revealed a refreshed Android logo. Yeah, it hasn’t exactly reinvented the wheel, or the droid, as it were. Android consumer brand management director Jason Fournier said the company wanted the bugdroid to "appear as dynamic as Android itself." Sounds like a self-burn The plan is to ensure the bugdroid looks consistent across digital and real-world environments.

There's also a useful-sounding accessibility feature coming to Android soon. It's called Image Q&A on Lookout. You'll be able to use voice commands or type questions to find out more details about AI-generated audio descriptions of visual content. A new widget called Assistant At a Glance is also inbound, to bring weather alerts, event reminders and travel updates.

Continue reading.

The best cameras for 2023

Compacts, DSLRs, action cams and, of course, mirrorless cameras.

Since smartphones obliterated the casual photography market, camera manufacturers are focusing on building models designed for very specific uses. Mirrorless cameras continue to improve in autofocus, video and more, while lens ranges expand yearly. Action cams provide sharp, fluid video, compact cameras target both tourists and vloggers and DSLRs are available at some of the best prices we’ve seen. If you’re considering a camera upgrade, this is a particularly good time to do so. Engadget’s Steve Dent walks you through the options.

Continue reading.

We hope you had a fun Labor Day break, for those that had the day off. Elsewhere, the three-day weekend included the IAA Mobility 2023 International Motor Show in Munich, Germany, and a barrage of new cars.

BMW revealed the Vision Neue Klasse — its latest concept design. The company claims it will have a 30 percent greater range and charging speed and be 25 percent more efficient than previous EVs. One of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse's more interesting features is its vibrant yellow lounge-style seats – removing chrome and leather should, theoretically, make the production more environmentally friendly.

Mercedes Benz

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz teased a smaller, cheaper G-Wagon EV, pictured above. CEO Ola Källenius said the “baby” G-Class EV will be significantly more compact than its cousin. As for the promise of a cheaper G-Class vehicle, a new Mercedes G-Class SUV starts at $140,000, so getting it to a lower price shouldn’t be too difficult.

– Mat Smith

​​You can get these reports delivered daily direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here!

The biggest stories you might have missed

The best music streaming services in 2023

Nintendo's new mobile game lets you pluck Pikmin on your browser

The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 is $300 off right now

Pizza Tower is the Wario Land + Sonic crossover I didn’t know I wanted

The best laptops for college students

Final Fantasy XVI is coming to PC

And you’ll get DLC too.

Square Enix

Final Fantasy XVI won't remain a PlayStation 5 exclusive much longer. Square Enix has confirmed a PC port is officially in development. That's not too much of a shock, considering the game's first trailer in 2020 mentioned a PC version, but hey, a confirmation’s nice.

Producer Naoki Yoshida said the development team has started work on two installments of “paid DLC.” Hopefully, it’ll have more narrative content and not just trickier bosses and challenges.

Continue reading.

Spotify may lock white noise podcasters out of its ad program

The aim may be to boost the company's bottom line.

According to Bloomberg, white noise podcasters won’t be eligible for Spotify’s Ambassador Ads program as of October 1. Under the program, Spotify pays podcasters to read ads for the company’s own products. Its goal is to get more people to make shows for the platform.

Bloomberg previously reported some white noise podcasters were making as much as $18,000 per month, in large part due to Spotify paying them for ad placements. Ambassador ads haven’t been very effective on white poise podcasts, according to the report, since their listeners aren’t typically as engaged as they might be with a conversational or narrative podcast.

Continue reading.

The Logitech G Pro X Superlight 2 improves an already great gaming mouse

USB-C charging and fully mechanical switches.

Engadget

Logitech’s G Pro X Superlight is one of the most popular gaming mice out there, and the company just made it better. The G Pro X Superlight 2’s battery life is now 95 hours per charge, up from 70 hours on its predecessor. A new Hero 2 sensor offers steadier tracking when quickly lifting or tilting the mouse. It also raises the maximum dots per inch (DPI) to 32,000 and tracking speed to 500 inches per second (IPS). Logitech has also transitioned to fully mechanical switches on the buttons, and it’s now USB-C chargeable. Finally. It’s available from today for $159.

Continue reading.