The four-year wait is almost over. Netflix has set a June 15th premiere date for the sixth season of sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. This latest season has been in the works for at least a year and creator Charlie Brooker has stated the new episodes would “keep things fresh” by tackling sci-fi tropes the series had previously avoided, calling it the “most unpredictable season” he’s been involved with.

The cast list is strong with this one. The upcoming sixth season stars Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek), Ben Barnes (Shadow and Bone), Himesh Patel (Station Eleven), Josh Hartnett (Black Hawk Down), Kate Mara (House of Cards), Rory Culkin (Columbus), Salma Hayek Pinault (Frida) and so many more. As always, this is an anthology series so each actor will likely just appear in one episode, but you never know.

To celebrate the premiere, Netflix has also dropped a brand-new trailer filled with intriguing shots. Brooker has said in the past that the newest season would be more cinematic in scope and this trailer certainly abides by that statement.

Black Mirror’s early seasons were a terrifying look at near-future possibilities, but now that we’re actually living in one, the show has lost a bit of its satirical edge. Let’s hope season six cranks it up a notch. All five episodes drop on June 15th.

If you’ve been saving up to integrate Shaq’s voice into your Alexa devices, you’ve officially blown it. Amazon is ditching all of its Alexa-enabled celebrity voices, including Shaquille O’Neal, Melissa McCarthy and, say it ain't so, Samuel L. Jackson. The distinct voice options will no longer be available for purchase and will no longer function even if you made a purchase a while back, as reported by The Verge.

That brings us to the topic of refunds, and it looks like there won’t be any. This isn’t earth-shattering news, as the voice options launched for just $1 before moving up to $5 in recent months. Still, buying something and having it vaporize into nothing is never fun for consumers. All is not lost, however, as Amazon told Engadget it'll process refunds upon request. 

"After three years, we’re winding down celebrity voices. Customers will be able to continue using these voices for a limited time, and can contact our customer service team for a refund," wrote a spokesperson for the company. 

Samuel L. Jackson is leaving any day now, with an official announcement on the purchase page indicating the feature will officially stop working next week. Melissa McCarthy and Shaq will function until sometime in September. 

To the uninitiated, this feature was an add-on for Alexa that transformed its usual chirpy tones into that of a celebrity. This was all fairly limited when compared to Alexa’s full feature set, as the celebs won’t do reminders and don’t integrate with many skills. They do, however, tell jokes, answer questions and complete simple voice-assisted tasks. The service started with Jackson in 2019 but extended to include Shaq and McCarthy shortly thereafter.

So why did Amazon shut the feature down? Alexa’s no longer the hottest thing in the universe and the company’s hardware division recently laid off thousands of people involved with designing and manufacturing Echo speakers, so that could be part of it. Again, the feature set with these voices was on the anemic side, so maybe not enough people bought them to offset the licensing costs. Finally, there’s the AI elephant in the room. Reports indicate that Amazon is building its own large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT to radically transform Alexa, and celebrity voices may no longer fit into that vision.

Update, May 30th, 2023, 2:50 PM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from Amazon. 

If you’ve been saving up to integrate Shaq’s voice into your Alexa devices, you’ve officially blown it. Amazon is ditching all of its Alexa-enabled celebrity voices, including Shaquille O’Neal, Melissa McCarthy and, say it ain't so, Samuel L. Jackson. The distinct voice options will no longer be available for purchase and will no longer function even if you made a purchase a while back, as reported by The Verge.

That brings us to the topic of refunds, and it looks like there won’t be any. This isn’t earth-shattering news, as the voice options launched for just $1 before moving up to $5 in recent months. Still, buying something and having it vaporize into nothing is never fun for consumers. We’ve reached out to Amazon for clarification on these refunds and will update when we hear back.

Samuel L. Jackson has already flown the coop, with an official announcement on the purchase page about his voice avatar’s early retirement. Melissa McCarthy and Shaq still work, but only until September.

To the uninitiated, this feature was an add-on for Alexa that transformed its usual chirpy tones into that of a celebrity. This was all fairly limited when compared to Alexa’s full feature set, as the celebs won’t do reminders and don’t integrate with many skills. They do, however, tell jokes, answer questions and complete simple voice-assisted tasks. The service started with Jackson in 2019 but extended to include Shaq and McCarthy shortly thereafter.

So why did Amazon shut the feature down? Alexa’s no longer the hottest thing in the universe and the company’s hardware division recently laid off thousands of people involved with designing and manufacturing Echo speakers, so that could be part of it. Again, the feature set with these voices was on the anemic side, so maybe not enough people bought them to offset the licensing costs. Finally, there’s the AI elephant in the room. Reports indicate that Amazon is building its own large language model (LLM) like ChatGPT to radically transform Alexa, and celebrity voices may no longer fit into that vision.

The next Mortal Kombat game might not be what you expect. NetherRealm and WB Games have unveiledMortal Kombat 1, a "reborn" take on the series that promises new fighting mechanics and game modes. While most details are under wraps, you'll see many well-known characters as well as "Kameo Fighters" to help you mid-battle. And yes, the gore remains intact — as the teaser trailer below indicates, you can expect plenty of fatalities.

Mortal Kombat 1 arrives September 19th for PC (via Epic and Steam), PS5, Switch and Xbox Series X/S. Pre-order customers get access to a beta in August. A $110 digital Premium Edition will offer early access to the game (September 14th), a Johnny Cage skin made to resemble actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and early access to playable characters and Kameo Fighters when they arrive post-launch. If you're truly devoted, a $250 physical Kollector's Edition will include a 16.5-inch Liu Kang sculpture as well as a matching in-game skin, art prints and a special case.

The reboot is in line with the ending of Mortal Kombat 11 and its Aftermath add-on. However, it's also clearly positioned as an opportunity to rethink the gameplay and story. It's just a question of how much has changed. Not that this reinvention comes as much of a shock given what rivals are doing — Capcom is also shaking up its formula with the World Tour mode in Street Fighter 6.

In a striking move of innovation, Uber is opening a toll-free phone line (1-833-USE-UBER, so 1-833-873-8237) for scheduling immediate or future ride in English or Spanish – just like a typical taxi. It’s part of several new features, including group grocery shopping for people living at the same address and upgraded Uber Eats gifts, with the ability to attach a video message to your present.

In addition, Uber announced teen accounts with safety features. Uber says that only screened drivers who are experienced and highly rated will carry out trips with teen Uber users. Drivers will be able to opt out of such rides. Teen accounts have a series of built-in safety features, including audio recordings, RideCheck (which checks in with riders if the vehicle has stopped for a while) and the option to use a PIN to ensure young users are getting in the right car.

– Mat Smith

The Morning After isn’t just a newsletter – it’s also a daily podcast. Get our daily audio briefings, Monday through Friday, by subscribing right here.

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Nicolas Cage is coming to ‘Dead by Daylight’

Even if it doesn’t look much like him.

Dead by Daylight

Nicolas Cage will soon appear in Dead by Daylight. The actor will bring his delightful eccentricity and Billy Mays-style beard to the multiplayer survival game. Cage says in the appropriately campy teaser, “It can shape the fabric of reality, transforming everything you may think you know.” Cage will play himself in the role of a Survivor, according to Eurogamer.

Continue reading.

Logitech joins the growing list of companies with self-repair programs

It’s teaming up with iFixit to offer support for two popular mouse models.

iFixit

Logitech and iFixit announced a new partnership today to let customers repair their devices. iFixit will supply spare parts and out-of-warranty support for “select products” while developing guides for DIY repairs on Logitech gear. The program will kick off this summer in the US with support for two popular accessories: the Logitech MX Master and MX Anywhere mouse. iFixit says you can order parts a la carte or in kits with everything you need for a specific repair, including parts and tools.

Continue reading.

‘The New York Times’ built a standalone app for audio journalism

News subscribers can access the app on an iOS device.

The New York Times has launched a dedicated app for its audio projects: NYT Audio. Only available on iOS for now, it includes long-form audio as well as podcasts from the Athletic and Serial Productions, under one roof. The NYT first previewed the app back in 2021. It billed the software as a way to give its journalists more freedom to experiment outside of the limits imposed by platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Continue reading.

Beats Studio Buds + headphones review

A little bit better in every way.

Engadget

Beats has officially debuted its latest true wireless earbuds. That premature appearance was mostly accurate: The Studio Buds + have a familiar design with loads of improvements on the inside. Those upgrades include better battery life, retooled call performance and updated noise cancellation. There’s also a new transparent design option – in a blatant bid to get this Engadget newsletter editor to buy another pair of wireless buds. With the price increase, these have crept out of the midrange and are approaching premium status. They’re less obvious value than the original model, but that’s far from a dealbreaker. Check out the full review.

Continue reading.

Nicolas Cage will soon appear in Dead by Daylight. The actor will bring his delightful eccentricity and Billy Mays-style beard to the multiplayer survival game, developer Behavior Interactive announced on Twitter. “There is nothing more powerful than imagination,” Cage says in the appropriately campy teaser. “It can shape the fabric of reality, transforming everything you may think you know.”

Cage will play himself in the role of a Survivor, according toEurogamer. “After countless awards and over one hundred movies shot across the globe, Nicolas Cage had seen it all and done it all — or so he thought,” a brief announcement reads. “While on set filming the role of a lifetime, his performance summoned The Entity, a malevolent being of incomprehensible power. The actor soon found himself cast in otherworldly Fog, forced to Survive a host of terrifying Killers deadlier than even the most scathing film critic.”

It’s the latest quirky / campy addition to the popular horror game, following a K-Pop star, Freddy Kreuger, Leatherface, Evil Dead’s Ash Williams and a pro-surveillance tech executive. (It even has a dating-sim add-on for some reason.) The game’s developers, who describe Cage’s appearance as “the performance of a lifetime,” say we’ll hear more about the Oscar winner’s contribution on July 5th.

Avatar: The Way of Water will be available to stream on both Disney+ and Max (the new name for HBO Max) on June 7th. It's a bit unusual to see a major, recent movie land on two platforms at the same time, but there was a deal in place between 20th Century Studios, which Disney has owned since 2019, and HBO for streaming rights to certain theatrical releases.

The sequel to 2009's Avatar hit theaters in December and it went on to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time (as long as you don't factor inflation in). Director James Cameron made intriguing use of high frame rates in The Way of Water, with action-filled scenes typically playing at 48 frames per second to make them look smoother. More tranquil scenes appeared to run at 24 fps. The frames were doubled in those parts of the movie to make it seem as though they played at the frame rate we're used to seeing in theaters.

Unfortunately, it's unlikely that there will be an option to stream the film at higher frame rates at home anytime soon. Still, those who've been waiting for Avatar: The Way of Water to pop up on Disney+ or Max only have a few weeks longer to wait.

You'll soon see Hollywood's treatment of one of the most important (and dangerous) moments in scientific history. Universal has released a trailer for Oppenheimer, Christopher Nolan's biopic of the physicist who played a key role in developing and testing the first atomic bomb. The clip underscores the ethical issues surrounding the Manhattan Project and its work. While the team is hopeful that nuclear weapons will end World War II and usher in a new era of peace, they're also worried abut sparking an apocalyptic arms race — the movie doesn't end with the detonation.

The adaptation of Kai Bird and Martin Sherwin's American Prometheus book stars Cillian Murphy (Peaky Blinders) as its namesake scientist, with Emily Blunt as Oppenheimer's wife Katherine. Matt Damon plays Manhattan Project directo Gen. Leslie Groves Jr., while Robert Downey Jr. plays US Atomic Energy Commission co-founder Lewis Strauss. Rami Malek, Matthew Modine and Alden Ehrenreich also star.

Nolan's reputation and the top-tier cast will be the draws for many. However, this is also a rare movie that explores the role science played in WWII, not to mention in setting the stage for the Cold War and nuclear energy. The production of the movie is also notable. This is the first movie to feature sections of IMAX black-and-white film footage, so it may be worth heading to a supporting theater to get the full experience.

If you've wants Beats' most value-packed wireless earbuds but wanted them in a more vibrant color, now's the time to buy them. Amazon is selling the Beats Fit Pro in its latest colors (Coral Pink, Tidal Blue and Volt Yellow) for $160, or $40 off. All but the Kim Kardashian variants are discounted if you'd rather have a relatively safe hue like black or sage gray.

The Beats Fit Pro are our favorite workout earbuds for a good reason: the feature set is practically tailor-made for exercise. They have a secure but comfortable fit, and their balanced yet strong bass is well-suited to a thumping dance or rap track. Good active noise cancellation and a six-hour battery life also make these buds useful well beyond the gym.

There are some considerations before you leap on these buds. While the Beats Fit Pro are generally more Android-friendly than AirPods, they're unsurprisingly optimized for Apple devices. The absence of wireless charging may also be a setback if you'd rather not plug in. At this price, though, they're a better bargain than the AirPods Pro — you're getting solid sound quality and most of the convenience for considerably less.

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

You've heard this premise before: In a post-apocalyptic world, the remnants of civilization live in a stratified society, governed by oppressive rules as they struggle to maintain their humanity. Then, a hero appears and threatens to topple the social order. We've seen this story repeated so often throughout the history of dystopian fiction — most notably in Fritz Lang's masterpiece, Metropolis — that I wasn't immediately excited when Apple first announced Silo, an adaptation of Hugh Howie's wildly popular Wool novels. Surely, this can't top Bong Joon-ho's bonkers Snowpiercer (itself adapted from an '80s French graphic novel), so why even bother?

Well, I was wrong. Spearheaded by Graham Yost (Justified), Silo exemplifies everything I love about great science fiction. It wrestles with complex ideas and moral questions, it's filled with memorable and realistic characters, and it features a truly distinctive setting: a 144-story self-sustaining underground city that's reminiscent of The Matrix's Zion. In this case, though, the population seems mostly content with their situation. There's no memory of the world before the silo, so most people concern themselves with keeping the city running instead of breaking out. Why rock the bunker?

But, echoing a theme from HBO's excellent Station Eleven and Deep Space Nine, survival is insufficient. Some can't help but wonder about the nature of the silo: Is the video feed of the destroyed outside world real, or is it some sort of trap to keep them underground? Who, exactly, determines who can get pregnant? And what can they learn from the artifacts left behind from the previous civilization?

Silo makes a strong impression from the start. We're introduced to Sheriff Holsten (David Oyelowo), a well-liked law man who goes about his morning and makes a shocking announcement: He wants to go outside. The gravity of his declaration is instantly made clear, even though the show doesn't explain it up front. We later learn that anyone who asks to go out can, but it's essentially a death wish. All of this is conveyed almost wordlessly at first, thanks to the strength of Oyelowo's performance.

Apple

I can't help but love a show that begins so confidently. Throughout the first two episodes, Silo makes it clear that you're in good hands. Yost and his writing team — which includes Jessica Blaire (On Becoming a God in Central Florida) and Cassie Papas (Tyrant) — take time to introduce every character, establish their motivations and build a greater mystery. The impeccable production design makes the silo seem genuinely lived in. And the direction from Morten Tyldum deftly balances intimate drama with epic visuals (the silo has no elevator, just a very long stairwell that seems to go on forever).

Silo is the rare show where every word speaks volumes, every gesture seems meaningful, and every element of the frame tells a story. It's also filled with grounded and believable performances across the board: There's Rashida Jones as Allison, the Sheriff's wife, someone who's eager to start a family but also can't help but be curious about the history of the silo. Rebecca Ferguson (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and Fallout), ostensibly the star of the show, doesn't really get much screen time until the second episode, but she paints a convincing portrait of a world-weary engineer who just wants to solve the murder of her friend.

Apple

Of course, this wouldn’t be a dystopian story without some sort of greater conspiracy going on. The silo’s leadership is clearly hiding something from its citizens – though the mayor (played by Geraldine James) also seems genuinely concerned about the well-being of her people. There's a sense that even those in power are only trying to do their best, but may be faced with hard decisions to keep society going. 

You’d think after being somewhat burned by Lost, The X-Files and other shows centering on major sci-fi mysteries, I’d be less inclined to commit to yet another one. But Silo is so compelling, I just can’t help it.