In partnership with Spotify, Tinder has introduced Music Mode as part of its new Explore section, letting you hear the "Anthem" songs of members when you swipe to their profiles — a sort of mixtape for dates, if you will. The idea is to help you find others that share your musical taste, according to Tinder.

The new feature requires that you link your account to Spotify and choose an Anthem song "that defines [you] inside and out," according to Tinder. If you've done all that, you'll be able to head over to the Explore section and find the Music Mode card. Once you enable that, it'll automatically play any member's chosen anthem when you swipe their profile.

Tinder and Spotify added the Anthem feature back in 2016, so Music Mode is a new way discovering users favorite songs. Tinder notes that "around 40 percent of all Gen Z members globally have already added Anthems to their profiles and when they do, they see a 10 percent increase in matches." Tinder said the Explore tab introduced this summer is the "biggest update to Tinder since the invention of the original Swipe feature," thanks to the interactive features.

At the very least, Music Mode could help reduce the awkwardness of realizing you and your date have nothing in common when it comes to music. "Songs are deeply personal, and Music Mode is a place to spark something new through music," Tinder VP Kyle Miller said in the press release. The new feature should launch "soon," according to Tinder.

Oppo has teased its first foldable smartphone nearly three years after it unveiled a prototype device. The Find N looks like a device along the lines of Samsung's Galaxy Fold lineup, created after "four years of intense R&D and six generations of prototypes," Oppo said in a press release. The launch is set to take place at Oppo Inno Day on December 15th. 

Oppo didn't reveal any processor, display or other specs of the Find N, other than showing an image and video. It did promise a "beautiful" device that feels good in the hand, and will be simple to use in both the open and closed positions. It also said that it has solved any screen creasing and durability issues inherent in folding smartphones. 

The company best known for folding smartphones is Samsung, with both the Fold and Flip devices. It took Samsung three generations to work out major kinks in the Fold lineup, but the latest Fold 3 model "still needs work," we said in our Engadget review. Oppo has played things differently by waiting to release its first model, presumably until it felt it had ironed out any major issues. 

On top of the Find N, Oppo is set to reveal other products, having teased a "cutting-edge" neural processing unit (NPU) and smart glasses. The latter will presumably succeed last year's Oppo AR Glass 2021, developer-only Wayfarer-type glasses with 0.71-inch OLED panels meant to be connected to Android devices via a USB cable. It teased the new model with a "light vs. light" tagline, so they might be lightweight models aimed consumers, not just developers. We'll soon find out, as Oppo Inno Day runs from December 14-15.

Italy's antitrust authority (AGCM) has fined Amazon €1.13 billion ($1.28 billion) for "abuse of dominant position," the second penalty it has imposed on Amazon over the last month. Amazon holds a position of "absolute dominance" in the Italian brokerage services market, "which has allowed it to promote its own logistics service, called Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)," the authority wrote in a (Google translated) press release.

According to the AGCM, companies must use Amazon's FBA service if they want access to key benefits like the Prime label, which in turn allows them to participate in Black Friday sales and other key events. "Amazon has thus prevented third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA," it said. 

The authority said access to those functions are "crucial" for seller success. It also noted that third-party sellers using FBA are not subject to the same stringent performance requirements as non-FBA sellers. As such, they're less likely to be suspended from the platform if they fail to meet certain goals. Finally, it noted that sellers using Amazon's logistics services are discouraged from offering their products on other online platforms, at least to the same extent they do on Amazon. 

The AGCM said it imposed the steep fine as it considered Amazon's actions to be "particularly serious" given their duration and the effects they've caused. On top of the fine, it has demanded that Amazon grant the privileges enjoyed by FBA sellers to all third-party sellers, provided they respect other rules and laws. It will have to define and publish those standards within a year, and its actions will be enforced by a monitoring trustee.

Last month, Amazon and Apple were fined $228 million in Italy for unfairly restricting Beats sales by limiting them to select retailers. The EU also handed Amazon a record $888 million fine for violating the bloc's strict GDPR data privacy laws. Other tech giants are also under scrutiny in the EU. Notably, the EU recently opened an antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store rules, particularly over commissions related to in-app purchases. Engadget has reached out to Amazon for comment. 

Italy's antitrust authority (AGCM) has fined Amazon €1.13 billion ($1.28 billion) for "abuse of dominant position," the second such penalty it has imposed over the last month. Amazon holds a position of "absolute dominance" in the Italian brokerage services market, "which has allowed it to promote its own logistics service, called Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)," the authority wrote in a (Google translated) press release.

According to the AGCM, companies must use Amazon's FBA service if they want access to key benefits like the Prime label, which in turn allows them to participate in Black Friday sales and other key events. "Amazon has thus prevented third-party sellers from associating the Prime label with offers not managed with FBA," it said. 

The authority said access to those functions are "crucial" for seller success. It also noted that third-party sellers using FBA are not subject to the stringent performance requirements. As such, they're less likely to be suspended from the platform if they fail to meet certain goals. Finally, it noted that sellers who use Amazon's logistics services are discouraged from offering their products on other online platforms, at least to the same extent they do on Amazon. 

The AGCM said it imposed the steep fine as it considered Amazon's actions to be "particularly serious" given their duration and the effects they've caused. On top of the fine, it has demanded that Amazon grant the privileges enjoyed by FBA sellers to all third-party sellers, provided they respect other rules and laws. It will have to define and publish those standards within a year, and its actions will be enforced by a monitoring trustee.

Last month, Amazon and Apple were fined $228 million in Italy for unfairly restricting Beats sales by limiting them to select retailers. The EU also handed Amazon a record $888 million fine for violating the bloc's strict GDPR data privacy laws. Other tech giants are also under scrutiny in the EU. Notably, the EU recently opened an antitrust investigation into Apple's App Store rules, particularly over commissions related to in-app purchases. Engadget has reached out to Amazon for comment. 

YouTube TV is finally back on Roku streaming devices following a dispute between the two parties that has dragged on since April of this year. Both parties agreed to a deal for YouTube TV and the main YouTube app, which could have also disappeared if the feud wasn't settled. 

"Roku and Google have agreed to a multi-year extension for both YouTube and YouTube TV," a Roku spokesperson said in a statement. "This agreement represents a positive development for our shared customers, making both YouTube and YouTube TV available for all streamers on the Roku platform."

Roku originally pulled YouTube TV because it said that Google made anti-competitive demands, like more prominent placements for the apps and requiring Roku to use certain chips. Google retorted that Roku's claims were "baseless" and that it was focused on "ensuring a high quality and consistent experience for viewers." 

Both Roku and Google said recently that the main YouTube app could also disappear from Roku devices if a deal wasn't reached by December 9th — a loss that would have been felt far more acutely by Roku owners. That generated some negative press that may have brought extra clarity to the negotiations. There are no details on how the contract was resolved, but the YouTube app is now safe and you should see the YouTube TV app back on your Roku device soon. 

Facebook has launched a new professional mode for profiles that will let eligible creators earn money without the need to create a separate Page. The feature is part of Facebook parent Meta's $1 billion investment in creators that includes bonuses for Instagram influencers and an expansion to the Stars program announced yesterday by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 

The biggest feature of professional mode profiles is the addition of the Reels Play bonus program that allows creators to earn up to $35,000 a month based on views of qualifying reels (videos). Previously, that program was only open to users with Pages. It'll be invitation-only for professional profiles to start with, with more information about how to create reels here. 

As part of Reels, Facebook is planning to add the ability to create longer, 60 second reels, save drafts mid-creation and create compositions from multiple clips. Those features are coming "soon" and it's planning to expand Reels to more countries next year, too. Professional Mode also lets profiles see the same kind of post and audience analytics data that Page users get, including shares, reactions and comments. You can also see your follower growth over time. 

There's a caveat that, not surprisingly, involves privacy. Once you turn on professional mode, "anyone can follow you and see your public content in their feed," Facebook said. However, you'll still be able to limit specific posts or updates to friends only.

Facebook is playing catchup to rival platforms with the creator community, particularly TikTok, which recently passed 3 billion downloads and is ahead of Facebook in user engagement. On top of the new profiles, it recently introduced the Stars store website that lets creators earn cash from followers without paying app store commissions. Professional mode is testing with a limited number of profiles today in the US, but will be expanded to more people in the US "soon" and more countries in the coming months. 

If you're interested in sneakers listed on eBay and want a better look, the platform has launched a new feature called eBay 3D True View. The new app, created in partnership with game engine developer Unity, lets you rotate around the image at all angles and zoom in. It looks like an improvement over rival StockX's 3D viewer, which lets you rotate shoes in 3D, but only on one plane. 

Sellers can scan in sneakers with a mobile device by taking video from multiple angles. That data is then processed "using AI methodology" to create "photorealistic" 3D image of the item, eBay explains. Viewers can view the items from any angle, but only using eBay's mobile app on iOS and Android devices.

StockX has become a formidable eBay rival in the sneaker arena, thanks to its simplified, stock market-like buying and selling system, along with an authentication service. However, eBay has fought back with its own authentication system. StockX and eBay aren't the only resellers with 3D sneaker views, as GOAT offers AR sneaker previews, available before models even launch.

Only select sneaker sellers will get access to the new feature starting this month, but eBay plans to roll it out more widely in 2022 — if you're an interested seller, you can sign up to get on a waiting list. 

Washington DC's city council has approved the use of digital driver's licenses and IDs, joining Arizona, Georgia and other states, The Washington Post has reported. That gives the district's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) the authority to issue digital credentials that can be stored on a smartphone or other mobile device. They could then be presented for entering government buildings, to purchase liquor or in case of police stops, for example. 

Digital IDs and driver's licenses strongly entered the public conversation in September, when Apple announced that Wallet would hold driver's licenses and other IDs in iOS 15. The TSA was slated to be the first place iPhone owners could use their digital identity cards, and Apple subsequently announced that Arizona, Georgia, Kentucky and Oklahoma would be early adopters of the program. Last month, however, Apple said it would delay the release of digital ID cards until 2022, rather than the end of 2021 as scheduled.

Washington DC residents will have the option of using physical or digital credentials and will not be required to show a digital ID on a mobile device. The bill passage brings the city "a step closer to the reality of digital credentials," DC DMV director Gabriel Robinson told The Post. The DMV must now create a plan to to develop the credentials once the legislation is signed into law. 

Sony only just launched its ZV-E10 mirrorless vlogging camera in July, but as of December 3rd, it has suspended orders and ceased production due to the ongoing chip shortage, Sony Japan announced. The company added that a resumption of production and sales will depend upon "the status of parts supply," and that interested buyers should keep an eye on the camera's product page. 

The ZV-E10 was released as a more capable follow-up to the popular, compact ZV-1 vlogging camera, thanks to the option to change lenses. It's essentially a reworked A6100 model with a flip-out display, no electronic viewfinder (EVF), a high-quality built-in three-capsule microphone and a button that makes it easy to switch from video to still photography. 

Sony has also paused production of the A7 II, A6400 and A6100 cameras. The latter two are fairly recent models, but the A7 II originally launched in 2014 — so it's hard to see a particular pattern. 

Cameras aren't the only Sony products affected by semiconductor shortages. Sony also reportedly reduced PS5 production, something that might put its delivery target of 14.8 million consoles by March 2022 in jeopardy. Sony and TSMC recently announced that they'd team up on a chip factory in Japan for specialized chips used in cars, cameras and other gadgets. However, the plant won't come online until 2024 at the earliest, so it'll do nothing to help Sony or anyone else, anytime soon. 

Two years ago, BMW delivered its 500,000th electrified vehicle (including EVs and hybrids), promising to deliver one million units in two years. Now, the company has announced that it's met that goal by delivering its one millionth electrified vehicle, an iX xDrive40 SUV (shown above), to a customer in Europe. It's also promising to double that tally to two million by next year, while delivering two million fully electric EVs by 2025. 

BMW was a pioneer in the pure electric category with the i3 and i8 EVs, but has been slow to ramp up its offerings since then. As such, the majority of its electrified sales have been hybrid, rather than pure EVs. (The term "electrified" generally encompasses both PHEVs, mild hybrids and EVs.) Between January and September of 2021, BMW reportedly sold 59,688 EVs and 171,887 plug-in hybrid vehicles worldwide, according to CleanTechnica. In 2020, it sold 192,646 plug-in vehicles, including PHEVs and EVs, InsideEVs reported. 

This year, the company launched the i4 sedan and iX SUV pure electric models into the US market, but they only went on sale last month. It also offers four PHEVs, including versions of the 7, X5, 3 and 5 models. Over the next year, BMW will add the fully electric BMW 7 series and X1, plus the high-volume BMW 5 series by 2023. It plans to have "about ten million fully-electric vehicles on the road" by 2031 or so.