Luxury EV maker Lucid Group has struck a deal to sell the government of Saudi Arabia up to 100,000 vehicles over the next ten years, it announced. The kingdom's Ministry of Finance will buy at least 50,000 Air sedans and upcoming models from now until 2032, with an option to buy another 50,000 over the same period. 

Saudi Arabia's public wealth fund invested $1 billion in Lucid in 2018 and owns a 62 percent stake in the company. The order will include vehicles from Lucid's existing Arizona factory and a new one planned for Saudi Arabia. It'll start next year with sales between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles annually and ramp up to 4,000-7,000 per year in 2025, according to Lucid. 

Lucid recently launched its first vehicle into production, the $169,000 Air Dream Edition Performance sedan with 1,111 horsepower and 450 miles of range. The Air Grand Touring model will show up later for $139,000, followed by the $95,000 Air Touring and finally the base, sub-$80,000 Air. However, prices will also include "logistics and importation costs, and other costs of delivering and homologating vehicles to regulations of Saudi Arabia," according to Lucid. 

"We are delighted to be supporting Saudi Arabia in achieving its sustainability goals and net zero ambitions, as outlined by Saudi Vision 2030 and the Saudi Green Initiative, by bringing our advanced luxury EVs to Saudi Arabia," said Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson. 

However, as part of those initiatives, the kingdom also plans to continue drilling for oil in what it calls a "circular carbon economy." Critics have slammed that as greenwashing, citing recent UN reports stating that "time is running out" and that fossil fuel development is "dangerously out of sync" with climate change targets.

With YouTube's Shorts gathering significant momentum over the past year, Google is now experimenting with ads on the platform, Bloomberg reported. At first, you're likely to see app-install ads and other promotions, according to Google. "While it's still early days, we're encouraged by initial advertiser feedback and results," said Google's chief business officer Philipp Schindler on an investors call. 

Shorts launched in September 2020 to counter TikTok offering 15-second videos shot on mobile phones, and expanded to the US in March 2021. The platform now averages over 30 billion daily views, up more than four times over last year. "As we've always done with products, we focus on building a great user experience first, and we'll work to build monetization over time," said Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.

YouTube as a whole missed expectations by a good margin, posting $6.87 billion in sales compared to the $7.48 billion investors were expecting, according to Variety. Parent Alphabet also fell a bit short of targets with $68.01 billion in revenue, but that's still up 8 percent over the same quarter last year.

Along with YouTube shorts, a bright spot was the YouTube TV cord-cutting subscription service that "continues to deliver substantial revenue growth," the company said. Pichai also revealed that viewers watch more than 700 million hours of YouTube content per day on connected TVs. He added that YouTube will introduce new smartphone features for connected TVs this year that will make it easier for users to comment and share content. 

Amazon won't face fines and other penalties following the collapse of an Illinois warehouse that killed six workers during a tornado, CNBC has reported. However, the US Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) asked Amazon to review its procedures after discovering issues with its Emergency Action Plan (EAP). 

The storm that ripped across six states in December, well outside of tornado season, was one of the deadliest in years. Despite tornado warnings from the National Weather Service 36 hours ahead of the event, Amazon continued to operate the Edwardsville, Illinois warehouse. It was in the middle of a shift change when the tornado touched down with wind speeds up to 150 MPH, destroying the south side of the building. 

OSHA investigators concluded that Amazon's severe weather emergency guidelines "met minimal safety guidelines for storm sheltering." Because of that, "under our standards, there’s not a specific citation we can issue in light of the actions at Amazon," OSHA's assistant secretary of labor Doug Parker told reporters.

We’re making recommendations because under our standards, there’s not a specific citation we can issue in light of the actions at Amazon.

OSHA identified some workplace conditions as "risk factors," though. A megaphone to be used to activate shelter-in-place procedures was locked in a cage and inaccessible, and some employees didn't recall the location of the designated shelter-in-place location. In addition, Amazon's EAP had a section for severe weather emergencies, but it wasn't customized with specific instructions for the Edwardsville facility. To that end, investigators recommended that Amazon "voluntarily" take steps to address the issues.

An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC that it would "carefully consider" the recommendations. "Employees receive emergency response training, and that training is reinforced throughout the year. OSHA’s investigation did not find any violations or causes for citations, but we’re constantly looking to innovate and improve our safety measures and have already begun conducting additional safety and emergency preparedness drills at our sites and will carefully consider any OSHA recommendation that we have not already.”

While Amazon avoided penalties from OSHA, it's facing a separate probe in Congress and multiple lawsuits. The House Oversight committee announced it was investigating Amazon Warehouse safety earlier this month, saying it "seeks to fully understand the events that led to the tragedy at Amazon’s Edwardsville facility." The company is also facing multiple lawsuits from several injured workers and the family of one of the people killed in the collapse. 

The Roku Channel has signed a multiyear deal with Lionsgate Films that will allow it to stream upcoming blockbusters like John Wick 4 and Borderlands for free, it announced. Roku will get those films in a timely fashion too, right after their initial streaming windows on Lionsgate's Starz platform. "We are pleased to expand our relationship with our longstanding partner Lionsgate to provide our audience with exclusive first-time, free access to Lionsgate’s theatrical slate," said Roku VP Rob Holmes in a statement. 

Other films that arriving to Roku include The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent starring Nicolas Cage, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, The Expendables 4 and White Bird: A Wonder Story (Helen Mirren and Gillian Anderson). 

Roku has made a steady push into free programming, buying all of Quibi's short-form shows last year and later adding content from The Tribeca Film Festival, IGN, CBC News and AccuWeather. The new move is a bigger deal, though, as it will let Roku Channel users stream blockbuster films at no cost before they arrive on cable or other platforms. The company didn't say if the films would stream with ads or not, but much of Roku's free content is ad-supported. 

Roku also offers Premium subscriptions to HBO, Cinemax, Starz and other services. The new free movie streaming offerings are another shakeup in a crowded, volatile industry. Earlier this week, Netflix announced it would offer an ad-supported tier after 200,000 subscribers left the platform — the first such decline in over a decade. 

Elden Ring is famous for its rich open world, but it just got turned into an 8-bit rolling adventure demake that's... kind of amazing? It was created by Reddit user Shintendo, who showed off an early demo set in Elden Ring's Chapel of Anticipation. There, a Tarnished faces off against the infamous Grafted Scion boss (and loses, again). Gameplay is still pretty rough, but it captures the spirit of the game along with the nostalgic feels of the Game Boy era. 

The rolling animation style is a chef's kiss, with the main character doing adorable little rolls through terrain just like in the big game. Meanwhile, the "press B button to attack" and other screens prompts are pure Game Boy callbacks. It also captures the battle style from iconic GB titles like Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.

Shintendo explained that the demake was created using GB Studio 3.0 and said that it would be playable on real hardware. He's aiming to release a demo by the end of May on Itch.io, the same storefront that hosts the Bloodborne PC demake that reimagines the game as a PS1 title. 

HTC Vive has unveiled the Mars CamTrack, a system designed to put real-world actors into virtual environments Mandalorian-style, at a relatively affordable price. It'll let producers film actors against a projected background that moves in sync with the camera so it looks like they're in a real environment.

The system uses existing hardware along with a new box called Mars that processes all the signals. It also includes a pair of Vive Trackers (3.0) to track camera, light or prop movement, three Rovers to send the signal from a Vive Tracker to Mars and a pair of Base Stations (2) that determine the exact location of each Vive Tracker and Rover module. 

The idea is to use Unreal Engine to create virtual 3D environments (space ships, planets, etc.) that can be manipulated in real-time on a computer and projected onto a screen. You then track up to three cameras and feed the signal into Unreal Engine via a system called LiveLink. When the camera follows the actor, the background moves in real time based on tracker data so that it looks like the actor is really in the scene.

There are some big advantages to this technique. Everything can be done in one place with no need for expensive location shoots, and sets can be changed on the fly. It also makes performing easier, as actors can see their environment rather than needing to pretend it's there. Plus, it saves on post-production costs — according to ILM, the technique was used in 50 percent of The Mandalorian's shots. The technique also works for greenscreen shooting, as a video linked by HTC Vive shows. 

HTC Vive

Setting up such systems can be complicated, but HTC Vive promises features like automatic calibration for camera offset and lens distortion. It also has plug and play compatibility, letting you sync Unreal Engine's LiveLink system "with no additional software required." 

Mars CamTrack is being sold in package with the Trackers, Rovers, Base Stations, Mars unit, cables, a calibration kit and more. The early bird price is $5,000, which isn't cheap (and doesn't include a projector and other things you may need), but it is a bargain compared to what it would cost you to try to build one yourself. If you're interested, you can now register to buy a Mars CamTrack kit. 

Panasonic launched the GH5 over five years ago, helping set off a mini vlogging boom and confirming the potential of mirrorless cameras for video. Its replacement has finally come in the form of the $2,200 GH6 with an all-new sensor and desirable features like ProRes, 5.7K 60p video and an all-new stabilization system.

Panasonic had the video creator market largely to itself in 2018, but things are different now. It’s crowded with models from Canon, Sony and Nikon, all offering similar features to the GH6 for a similar price. Some of those, like Sony’s A7 IV and the Canon EOS R6, have full-frame sensors and superior phase-detect autofocus systems.

Panasonic has its own full-frame lineup too, so it’s effectively competing with its own Lumix S5 model. Is there still a place for a video-centric Micro Four Thirds camera with contrast-detect autofocus? I took a final production version of the GH6 out in the French countryside to find out.

Body and handling

Apart from the similar control layout, the GH6 doesn’t look much like the GH5 anymore. The first substantial change is the hump on the back. It accommodates both a multi-angle articulating display and an active cooling system with a fan and vents for continuous video shooting at high video resolutions.

It’s got a new grip too, which is perhaps the largest I’ve ever seen on any camera, mirrorless or otherwise. It uses a tackier rubber material and has a bigger ridge for your fingers, giving a secure grasp on the camera at all times.

All the buttons and dials are in roughly the same spots, save a few exceptions. The most noticeable change is the addition of a switch on the top left corner that lets you lock out any controls you want. The other is a dedicated autofocus button for changing AF areas, models, eye detection and more.

Another big change is the addition of a second video record button on the front, ideally placed for vloggers. There's also a nice dedicated audio control button that lets you quickly access levels, quality and more without diving into menus. Finally, there’s a second button up front that can be set to do whatever you want.

Steve Dent/Engadget

The GH6 uses the new style of Panasonic menu found on the GH5 II and S5. It's among the easiest to use of any mirrorless camera, with logical categories and not too much scrolling needed. Plus, it can be operated by touch or using the buttons and dials.

As mentioned, the GH6 has a fully articulating 1.84-million dot rear touchscreen, as you’d expect, but it borrowed a feature from the full-frame S1H as well: It tilts up by about 45 degrees, letting you keep it clear of the microphone and HDMI ports for vlogging or external capture.

The 3.68 million dot OLED electronic viewfinder is as sharp as rivals, but the refresh rate is limited to 60Hz. Since the GH6 is primarily designed for video that’s not too big a deal, as higher EVF frequencies mostly help action photographers.

With the introduction of ProRes and ProRes HQ, internal data rates can hit up to 1.9Gbps (237.5 MB/s). To that end, the GH6 now has a high-speed CFexpress slot, along with a UHS II slot. The drawback of having one very fast card and one very slow card is that you can’t backup ProRes (or 800Mbps All-I H.264 video) to the SD card. That could be a problem for videographers that absolutely require a backup when shooting video for weddings and other live events.

Steve Dent/Engadget

As for ports, it has a full-sized HDMI port as you’d hope on such a camera, along with a USB-C port that supports power delivery so you can charge or power the camera while shooting. Naturally, it has headphone and microphone jacks, and you can upgrade that to four-channel XLR inputs using Panasonic’s $400 DMW-XLR1 hotshoe adapter.

Overall, the GH6 is a well designed and great-handling camera, particularly for video. Key settings like audio levels, video resolution and autofocus are easy to change and monitor.

There are a few drawbacks, though. It's heavy for a Micro Four Thirds camera at 823g, and the battery life isn’t great either. It’s rated for just 350 still images on a charge, compared to 400 on the GH5 with the same settings, and about an hour of continuous 4K shooting. On one of our shoots, however, it didn’t manage more than about 45 minutes of stop-start shooting, so you’ll want to buy and carry a lot of extra cells.

Video

Just like the GH5, the GH6 is a video creator’s camera above all. For that, it’s better than its predecessor in nearly every way, from resolution to stabilization to dynamic range.

The GH6 can shoot 5.7K all the way up to 60 fps, DCI 4K up to 120 fps and 1080p at 240 fps. As with other Panasonic cameras, it supports anamorphic shooting up to 5.7K. That lets you use lenses from Vazen, Sirui and others and get those dramatic JJ Abrams horizontal lens flares. 10-bit video with billions of colors is available for most of these formats, with an Intraframe I mode for easier editing and LongGop L mode, (both with H.264 and H.265 codecs), to conserve space.

Steve Dent/Engadget

It also supports 12-bit ProRes and ProRes HQ, formats that gobble card space but are easier to edit than MP4. You can only shoot 5.7K 25p ProRes video for now, but ProRes DCI 4K and full HD are coming later via a firmware update. RAW output at up to C4K (4,096 x 2,160) 120p to an external Atomos Ninja V+ recorder will also be introduced down the road.

The 5.7K ProRes footage allows for crisp downsampled 4K footage or cropping where needed, while delivering the best possible quality with minimal compression and 12 bits of color. It’ll also play in real time on a decent editing computer, but you’ll need lots of storage space – the file sizes are massive.

Meanwhile, 4K at 120 fps is a big plus for dramatic slow-mo. Unlike with rivals, there’s no cropping or drop in sharpness at those higher frame rates, and 10-bit video is available. The only downside to 120p is that a feature called Dynamic Range Boost isn’t supported.

So what is that? Rather than Dual Native ISO like the GH5, the GH6 has Dynamic Range Boost. It combines high and low-gain readouts to deliver extra dynamic range at ISO settings over 800. With the feature turned off, dynamic range is a bit below the GH5 and when enabled, it’s a full stop higher.

The GH6 is also Panasonic’s first non-professional camera with full V-Log, not hobbled V-Log L. With all that, video quality is outstanding, particularly in demanding, contrasty scenes. It’s sharp, colors are right on point and the extra stop of dynamic range over the GH5 gives editors more room to dial down bright scenes and amp up shadows in post-production.

Considering the small sensor, the GH6 is a surprisingly decent low-light camera, too. Noise is well controlled up to ISO 12800, with the best results at ISO 6400. That’s aided by Panasonic’s new “3D Noise Reduction” that kicks in at higher ISOs to suppress grain with a slight loss of detail.

The downside with the system is that, weirdly, there’s more noise in shadows at low ISOs. That’s because the Dynamic Range Boost can’t be engaged below ISO 800, so there’s more noise in dark areas of the picture.

The GH6 has much improved in-body stabilization (IBS) over its predecessor. Panasonic boosted that to 7.5 stops with supported lenses, just below Canon’s R6. However, numbers only tell part of the story. It’s not only great for handheld video, but is the best camera for walkaround vlogging I’ve ever tried. Without even trying to smooth out my footsteps, I only saw a mild up and down motion with none of the jerking I’ve seen on other cameras.

If you do hit the odd jolt or whip the camera around, you won’t see much wobble or jello, either. That’s because even though it doesn’t have a stacked sensor, rolling shutter is well controlled – a big benefit of a smaller sensor.

Shooters have been screaming for a histogram display and Panasonic has finally added one. It’s the best way to set exposure, especially for log video, and you can resize and position it anywhere in the frame.

Steve Dent/Engadget

The GH6’s biggest issue is still contrast detect autofocus, or what Panasonic calls Depth from Defocus. It is improved over the GH5, with new AI smarts to boost tracking and subject recognition for people and animals. However, it still isn’t as fast or accurate as the phase detect systems on rival cameras.

By its nature, contrast detect can’t lock into focus as fast as phase detect. In certain circumstances, Panasonic’s system also has a tendency to “hunt” for focus, causing a distracting pulsing as the video goes in and out of focus.

As a workaround, you can shoot at higher frame rates, as contrast detect AF functions better when it has more frames to analyze. However, that’s not always convenient, particularly if you want maximum control over shutter speeds and motion blur. Because of this, I don’t always trust it for interviews, standup or other situations.

Overall, Panasonic has done as much as it can do with contrast detect, but it’s just a fundamentally inferior system. Thankfully, the company is starting to hint that phase detect might arrive in future models.

Photography

Now, let’s talk about photography. With relatively slow 7 fps burst speeds with continuous autofocus, the GH6 is not a great choice for action or wildlife shooting. If you’re into that and want Micro Four Thirds, get the Olympus OM-1 instead.

There are improvements that make it good for certain things, though, particularly the 25.2-megapixel sensor. That’s the highest resolution yet on a Micro Four Thirds camera, so it’s more useful than the GH5 for things a hybrid shooter might do like product photography or portraits.

Like video, photos have improved dynamic range, sharpness and high-ISO capability. The Dynamic Range Boost is particularly useful for RAW photos in tricky lighting situations, letting you pull detail out of shadows and highlights.

Finally, the contrast-detect AF isn’t as big of a drawback for photos as it is for video, particularly for a relatively slow camera like the GH6. It usually delivers sharp photos for burst shooting with human or animal subjects, though it’s still not as reliable as recent competing cameras. Overall, it’s an improvement over the GH5, but still well short of models like the Sony A7 IV.

Wrap-up

Steve Dent/Engadget

Panasonic’s GH6 is a lot of camera for the money, offering an outstanding feature set for vloggers and creators that rivals many professional video cameras. The stabilization system and handling are first-rate, video quality is outstanding and it’s more affordable than rival full-frame cameras with similar capabilities. Micro Four Thirds lenses are also much cheaper than full-frame lenses.

As usual, the bugbear with the GH6 is the contrast-detect autofocus that’s not up to par with Sony, Nikon and Canon’s latest offerings. It’s also heavy for a Micro Four Thirds camera and battery life is subpar. Finally, the Micro Four Thirds sensor might not cut it if you need shallow depth of field and superior low-light capability.

It has some stiff competition like the Sony A7 IV and Canon EOS R6, both priced at $2,500. For a lot less, look at Fujifilm’s $1,700 X-T4 or the $960 Nikon Z FC. And if you want a Micro Four Thirds action or wildlife camera, get the $2,200 OM-1. If you’re good with the AF and sensor size limitations, however, the GH6 is a top choice for vlogging and content creation.

If you've been eyeing an Alexa-powered fourth-generation Echo Dot smart speaker, now is the time to buy. Several models are on sale, including the basic model that's selling for just $28 or 44 percent off, the lowest price we've seen to date. The Echo Dot + Amazon Smart Plug, Echo Kids and Echo with Clock model are also carrying steep discounts near their all-time low prices. 

Powered by Amazon's Alexa voice assistant, the Echo Dot is one of the least expensive smart speakers out there. You get a lot for your money, though. It delivers surprisingly good sound, offers a 3.5mm audio output to connect to an amp or headphones, and is small and discrete enough to fit into any décor. And of course, you get the power of the Alexa smart home ecosystem.

The best deal is the Echo Dot + Amazon Smart Plug selling for $33. With that combo, your voice can control any outlet to schedule lights ("Alexa, turn on the lights"), fans and appliances or create timers and routines. Buying the items separately at full retail costs $75, and even if you bought both items on sale separately (the smart plug is currently at $20 or $5 off), you're still saving $15. 

The Echo Dot with Clock gives you the same feature set as the Echo Dot, but can also show the time, weather and timers. The visual timer is very handy for cooking, and it's on sale for $40, or $20 off the regular price. Finally, the Kids version of the Echo Dot gives you the same feature set, but adds cute animal faces to the orb-like speaker. It's available with tiger or panda motifs for $40, also $20 off the regular price. It's best to act fast if you're interested, as the sale won't last forever. 

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Elon Musk first started the idea of a high-speed hyperloop transport system between cities way back in 2013, but he left it to other companies to develop the idea further. Fast forward to 2017, when Musk announced that would build a hyperloop system after all, starting with the New York to Washington D.C. route. Now, Musk has tweeted that The Boring Company will attempt to build a working hyperloop "in the coming years." 

As a reminder, hyperloop is a system that runs pods with passengers or cargo through low-pressure tubes at speeds up to 800 MPH. It's an idea that could work in theory, but it's never been proven to run at anything close to those speeds in practice.

Musk noted that hyperloop would be the fastest way of getting from one city center to another for distances less than 2,000 miles, with Starship being faster for longer journeys. He also noted that "underground tunnels are immune to surface weather (subways are a good example), so it wouldn’t matter to hyperloop if a hurricane was raging on the surface. You wouldn’t even notice." 

In fact, Paris subways are susceptible to flooding when the Seine river is high, for instance, and the New York subway system flooded during Hurricane Sandy, as TechCrunch noted. Still, perhaps hyperloop could be designed to be flood-resistant.  

Meanwhile, Musk founded the Boring Company in late 2016 as a way to dig tunnels efficiently for cars and high-speed trains. That company recently received a big cash injection that valued it at around $5.7 billion, but it has yet to complete any significant projects, apart from the Las Vegas LVCC Loop with 1.7 miles of tunnels. (It has announced, but shelved or cancelled several other projects). 

Hyperloop would add to the stack on Musk's plate, which could include a $43 billion purchase of Twitter. It's also not completely clear how serious Musk is when he makes such proclamations. 

There's an obvious synergy between hyperloop and The Boring Company. It could become a lot more practical once the company finishes development of Prufrock-3, a machine that will supposedly be able to dig seven miles of tunnel per day. That's about fifty times faster than the company's current Prufrock-2 machines that can do just one mile of tunneling per week. 

A record 238 anti-LGBTQ bills have been proposed in the US this year alone (as of last month), with about half of them targeting transgender people specifically. With that in the background, filmmakers Lana and Lilly Wachowski have announced that they're holding an auction of props from films like The Matrix and Cloud Atlas to raise money for vulnerable trans youth, Gizmodo reported.  

The Enter the Matrix: The Wachowski Collection held by Potter & Potter Auctions features items from their film canon and the Netflix cult series, Sense8. All the money raised will go to the Protect & Defend Trans Youth Fund, which will distribute the funds to organizations in Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee and elsewhere in the US.

A number of iconic props and items are up for grabs, like the screen-used Lightning Rifle from The Matrix "as seen wielded by Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) against Tank (Marcus Chong) and Dozer (Anthony Ray Parker)," according to the description. Others include Channing Tatum's screen-worn latex ears and gravity boots from Jupiter Ascending, a purple Segway from Speed Racer, an execution chair from Cloud Atlas, MTV Movie/ACE/Jupiter Awards, platinum records and more. 

The auction is taking absentee bids, with a live auction starting on May 12th at 11AM ET. At the same time, Trans Week starts today and runs until March 31st — for information on how to help, visit their website.