When Walmart launched its virtual fitting room back in March, it gave you 50 models with various body types and heights to choose from. It was up to you to find the model you resemble the most, so you can see what a piece of garment would look like on you. Now, the retailer is leveling up the experience by letting you virtually try clothes on your own photos.
In the company's announcement, Apparel and Private Brands EVP Denise Incandela said its virtual fitting room can show how clothes fit in a realistic way. It doesn't simply overlay images on your photos — when you choose an item to fit, you'll see the parts where shadows would fall and you'll see how the fabric would drape on your body. Theoretically, that means different sizes of the same item would look differently on your photo in the same way they'd fall differently on your body if you were trying them in real life. That's made possible with the use of algorithms and machine learning models originally used to develop accurate topographic images.
The new virtual try-on experience is available for 270,000 items across brands on Walmart's website, including Levi's and Hanes, and will continue to grow. You can't use previous photos with the feature, though: The first time you choose "yourself" as a model when you tap the "Try It On" button, you'll be prompted to take a photo of yourself wearing something form-fitting and to input your height.
The upgraded experience is now available on Walmart's iOS app, and iOS users be able to use the photos they take on mobile when they fire up the experience on desktop or the web "shortly." The feature will roll out to Android users in the coming weeks, as well.
I’m a big fan of beef jerky. Not so much eye-watering retail price, mind you, or the untraceable nature of the commercial product’s precursors — like when you get that one bag that’s nothing but scraps, unidentifiable knuckles and strands of desiccated flesh, ew. So I decided, in keeping with my recent self-sufficiency kick, to start dehydrating my own food for fun and, presumably, eventual profit. Certainly not because the USDA is warning that in 2022, “all food prices are predicted to increase between 8.5 and 9.5 percent,” with “food-at-home prices predicted to increase between 10 and 11 percent.”
Dehydration is one of humanity’s oldest and most useful food preparation techniques. We were doing it before we began farming, sun-drying meat and vegetable matter to wick away moisture that leads to spoilage, extending its durability and making it easier to transport. Even with later advances in fermentation, pickling, curing and canning, drying remains an ubiquitous practice with the global meat snack industry estimated at $9.47 billion in 2021.
Given that I was just getting into the activity, and am generally a cheap sumbitch, I ignored the advice of popular review sites and forewent the bells and whistles of Wi-Fi connectivity, stainless steel construction and associated smartphone apps, opting instead for the least expensive, most barebones dehydrator I could find: the Cosori C0165. It’s $70 and perfect.
Andrew Tarantola / Engadget.com
I mean it’s a food dehydrator. It is, by definition, a box that blows hot air. You could literally MacGyver one out of a hair dryer, a plastic milk crate, a two gallon water jug, some chicken wire, and a roll of duct tape if you wanted to. And there is nothing fancy about the dehydration process. You set the temperature and a timer, then wait 6 - 18 hours for a bell to ding, so like why would I spend upwards of $200-500 for a bunch of features that only give the illusion of greater control but don’t make the actual process go faster?
The C0165 does exactly what it's supposed to and not one iota more and I absolutely love it for that. You get five BPA-free plastic stacking trays, a fruit roll sheet and a mesh sheet for herbs (yes, those herbs too). You put moisture-filled stuff on those trays, you stack the trays, you turn on the machine, you set the temperature (95ºF-165ºF) and time (30-minute increments up to 48 hours), and then you move on with your life. There are no pop-up reminders to clear, no app permissions to grant, and very little to break, so long as you don’t dunk the base unit in liquid. The thing is damn near silent, running under 48 dB — you won’t notice it operating overnight unless it's in the same room as you — and is compact enough to fit into the cabinet when not in use. Clean-up is also easy: just wipe down the base with a sponge and give the trays a light scrubbing to take off any dried bits left behind.
Andrew Tarantola / Engadget.com
To date, I’ve managed to fit 2-plus pounds of sliced and marinated bottom round into the machine in one go, as well as around 3-pounds of roasted heirloom tomatoes at a time. Taller (or broader, depending on your angle of observation) items can be tricky as there isn’t much space between each tray level so stuff like hatch chilis will need to be cut down to size before being processed. And while I have to run the machine for the better part of a day to see results, it is still far more efficient than using a full-size kitchen oven (which draw 2000-3000W, on average, to the C0165’s 450W) and magnitudes faster than waiting for the dumb old sun to do it — and that’s assuming you even live somewhere hot and dry enough to prevent the food from rotting before it fully dries (hint: that somewhere is sure not San Francisco).
Android users looking for a new smartwatch might want to go all in on Samsung's new Galaxy Watch 5, but the company's latest sale on the previous generation may give them pause. Samsung's currently selling the Galaxy Watch 4 for only $130, which is, by far, the best price we've ever seen it. Typically priced at $250 (and often on sale for $200), the Galaxy Watch 4 had been our favorite wearable for Android users until the successor came around last month, but the differences between the two models are actually quite minimal.
There are only a few major differences between the Galaxy Watch 4 and this year's Watch 5. The newer model has a Sapphire Crystal glass display, which makes it more resistant to cracks and scratches, and it has a unique curvature to the underside of its case, which should help provide more accurate health sensor readings. The Galaxy Watch 5 also has a new skin temperature sensor, but it wasn't active at launch.
Because we enjoyed our experience with the Watch 5, we now consider it to be the best smartwatch for Android users. But make no mistake, the Galaxy Watch 4 is a very similar device, and you wouldn't be giving up many new features by opting to pick it up while it's on deep discount. The Galaxy Watch 4 earned a score of 85 from us for its attractive design that's also durable with protections like an IP68-rating, 5ATM of water resistance and MIL-STD-810H for durability. It has a 3-in-1 biometric sensor that enables a ton of health tracking features, including body mass scans and continuous blood oxygen detection during sleep.
We also like that it runs WearOS with One UI, so users will still feel like they're using Samsung's Tizen but they'll still reap the benefits of Google's wearable operating system. You can download apps directly from the Watch 4 from the Play Store, and One UI supports gesture controls that will let you do things like answer or dismiss calls with a flick of the wrist or a lift of the arm. Overall, if you're on a tight budget or simply don't want to spend at least $280 on the Galaxy Watch 5, you can still get most of the same features in the Galaxy Watch 4 right now for much less.
DJI has done another 180 on its Osmo action cam lineup. The original Osmo Action had a classic GoPro look, but then with the Action 2 (no Osmo), DJI went to an oddball modular design. It had some interesting ideas – it was nice and small, and you could add storage, a front-facing screen and more with the add-on units. But it suffered from overheating, proved to be somewhat fragile and was overly complex.
Now with the Osmo Action 3, DJI has brought back the action-cam form factor. It also made numerous small improvements from the mount to the displays to the battery – but kept the previous model’s 1/1.7-inch, 12-megapixel sensor and maximum 4K 120p video resolution.
The rival Hero 10 is in a class by itself with its HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization, 5.3K 60p resolution and 240fps 2.7K frame rate – and GoPro has teased a new model (“taking it to 11”) arriving in exactly an hour – quite the interesting coincidence. To see how it stacks up, I tested it on a vehicle, bike and on foot, while getting a face-first look at the improved durability.
Body and handling
Without the battery module, the Action 2 has a fairly weak 60 minutes of battery life. DJI has addressed that with the new “Extreme Battery” on the Osmo Action 3 that lasts up to 160 minutes. It’s also the first action camera with fast-charging (via the Multifunction Battery Case) that allows for an 80 percent charge in just 18 minutes, or a full charge in 50 minutes.
It has a slick new magnetic quick-release mount that lets you connect the camera directly to a GoPro-style mount with or without the case. It also allows for easy vertical mounting, making the Action 3 better for social media.
That lets you detach the camera from a bike, car or other mount without the need to remove it from the case. DJI notes that the mounting system “eliminates loose connections and withstands impact such as a rider falling off their bike,” but recommends not doing that.
Steve Dent/Engadget
So naturally, I executed a perfect face plant on my mountain bike, and can confirm that the camera came away unscathed, unlike my face (yes, there’s video). The camera clearly made some contact with the ground but stayed attached to the mount and suffered no visible damage – so kudos to DJI for that.
You also get a front (1.4-inch, 360x360) and rear (2.25-inch, 640x360) screen that are both touch-enabled, making for easier vlogging or self-shooting. Gorilla Glass on the displays aids in the promised impact resistance. The menu system works in the same way as the Action 2, mainly by swiping. You swipe up to change primary settings like resolution and frame rate, down to access the main menu, left to change the shooting mode and right to play back footage. The menus work in the same way on both the front and rear displays.
It’s not terribly intuitive, but probably the best option for a screen that small. You can also connect the camera to DJI’s Mimo app, which is easier to use and more like what you’ll find on its Fly and Go drone apps. That lets you control video and photo captures remotely, while changing all the key camera settings.The app is also used to update the camera’s firmware.
As before, the Osmo Action 3 can work as a webcam, promising higher-quality video and audio than your typical built-in camera for conference calls and livestreams. This works well, with minimal setup and an easy connection via USB-C, though video is very wide. It also lets you livestream via WiFi at up to 1080/30p.
Video and stabilization
The Action 3 uses the latest version of DJI’s stabilization, Rocksteady 3.0, to eliminate camera shake in all directions up to the maximum 4K/120fps. It's nearly on par with GoPro’s HyperSmooth 4. I tested it on a vehicle over rough gravel roads, riding a bike on trails and roads with the camera mounted on my helmet, and on foot with the included selfie stick. It smoothed out the video perfectly in all those situations, only letting me down once (when I crashed), for some unknown reason.
It also uses DJI’s Horizon features that first arrived on the Osmo Action to keep the image level. HorizonSteady does a combination of shake reduction and horizon leveling, even through heavy bumps and extreme 360 degree rotations. This could be useful for… I’m not sure? Perhaps skydiving, scuba diving or the like. Note that it only works at up to 2.7K resolution and crops the image, no doubt because it requires the surrounding pixels to compensate for rotation.
Steve Dent/Engadget
HorizonBalancing corrects the tilt horizontally within ±45° and allows for steady recording at 4K/60fps. DJI calls it “a good middle ground between RockSteady and HorizonSteady, where a smooth 4K picture in dynamic movement is priority, such as an obstacle course run.” That feature kept my footage both smooth and steady, even through steep banks on a bike through streets.
The Action 3’s camera offers a 155-degree field of view (equivalent to a 12.5mm full-frame lens), considerably wider than the GoPro Hero 10’s 19mm equivalent in linear mode or about 16mm in fisheye mode. It also offers a standard dewarped (linear) view, along with wide and ultra-wide FOVs, with the latter considerably distorted. The zoom function is digital-only and looks pretty poor – you’d be better off zooming in using your video editing app.
As mentioned, DJI is playing up the vertical aspect ratio, with not just a vertical mount and user interface, but vertical shooting capability. The feature allow for 9:16 vertical shooting so you can post social media content at all the available resolutions with no need for cropping.
Video quality is excellent, at least on par with the Hero 10 at the equivalent resolution (the Action 3 has a 130Mbps max data rate, while Hero 10 tops out at 100Mbps). As mentioned, it can do 120fps at 4K, or 240fps at 1080p. On top of the video modes, you can shoot 12-megapixel photos.
The Hero 10, meanwhile, supports 5.3K at up to 60fps, 4K at 120 fps and 2.7K at 240fps. It’s nice to have the 240fps option at a higher resolution, but the DJI Osmo Action 3 is arguably a touch sharper at the full 4K 120p resolution.
The Hero 10 is better in low light, though. Despite the larger pixels, the Action 3’s video can get quite noisy, even in daylight in shaded forest, for instance. By contrast (sorry), the Hero 10 delivers clearer footage in similar situations.
With the new model, DJI has added the D-Cinelike color mode from its drones to boost dynamic range and make editing easier with contrasty footage. It also added a new color temperature sensor that automatically adjusts white balance and exposure in a single shot if you’re moving from shadows to bright sunlight or diving into water, for instance. That usually gave me relatively smooth transitions from shaded to sunlit areas, though again, the Hero 10 does a better job in this regard.
The Action 3 is waterproof at depths up to 16 meters (52.5 feet) without any housing and 64 meters with the optional waterproof case. That makes it ideal for snorkeling, light scuba diving, surfing and other watersports without the case, and deeper diving with it. I didn’t get a chance to test that feature other than splashing some water on it, but it certainly looks tight and solid.
Some users complained about overheating on the previous model, but DJI said that a new heat management system allows for continuous 4K 60p recording "until the battery runs out." I ran it at that resolution for 60 minutes with no issues, but at 4K 120p, the camera warns that the maximum recording time is nine minutes. GoPro Hero 10 users have reported recording times around 20-30 minutes at 5.3K 60p or 4K 120p.
Where the Action 2 required the optional display module for extra microphones, the new model has three built-in mics (two on the bottom front and one on top) with wind-noise reduction that offer reasonably high quality sound. You can also plug DJI’s microphone into the USB-C port or use another external mic via a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter.
It offers voice controls and voice prompts that give you the current settings without the need to stop or unmount the camera. Other features include the “Invisistick” feature to hide a selfie stick while skiing, loop recording and quick switching between five custom modes. Finally, it offers a low-power timelapse feature with presets for crowds, clouds and sunsets, along with dynamic timelapse video stabilization that offers smooth exposure and color temperature changes.
Wrap-up
Steve Dent/Engadget
So what to make of the Osmo Action 3? DJI wisely returned to an action cam form, while addressing the overheating and other complaints of users who purchased the Action 2. It also introduced features that trump the Hero 10, like the magnetic clip mount and long-lasting, fast-charging battery.
However, it still doesn’t beat GoPro where it really counts: the footage. Stabilization is nearly comparable, but the $400 Hero 10 (with subscription) has superior low-light powers, smoother scene transitions and higher resolution. Another option is the $300 Insta360 One RS, but the the linear frame rates (with the 4K Boost Lens) are lower than either the Hero 10 or Action 3 at 4K, 2.7K and 1080p resolutions — though it's a good option if you need 360-degree capture.
The Osmo Action 3 looks like a good option for many folks, though, particularly at the $329 base price. You can also grab it for $439 in the adventure combo, with three Extreme Batteries and the multifunction case, protective frame, a 1.5m extension rod, flat adhesive base, pair of quick-release adapter mounts and more. DJI also offers a large number of accessories including
Flickr is adding a new virtual photography category to help users find and categorize images they capture in their favorite video games. Previously, the platform only offered three content categories: photos, illustration and art, and screenshots. The company notes the third and final one didn’t quite meet the needs of one of its fastest-growing communities, which is why it’s making the change.
“By putting your work into one of these categories, you can use filters to limit your search results by interest,” Flickr explains in a blog post spotted by PetaPixel. “For instance, virtual photographers will be able to filter by ‘virtual photography’ while conducting site-wide searches if they only want to see that kind of work, while avoiding real-world photography or other art and illustration.”
The addition is an acknowledgment of just how popular virtual photography has become. We’re at the point where most games either ship with a photo mode at launch or the feature is added after release. Many developers have also started to frequently share the best captures from their communities. For instance, Hideo Kojima retweets Death Stranding photo mode images almost every week, as do studios like CD Projekt Red and Guerrilla Games.
It Takes Two was a breakout hit when it came out in 2021, and now the cooperative adventure game is coming to a fresh platform. It Takes Two is due to hit Switch on November 4th for $40, and pre-orders are open today. The game will take advantage of the Friend's Pass feature from developer Hazelight and publisher EA, unlocking co-op play even if one person doesn't own the game.
It Takes Two is a distinctly two-player experience, and on Switch it'll be playable three ways: in couch co-op mode, with two Switches over a local wireless network, or with a friend online. It's not playable cross-platform. The Friend's Pass feature is already a thing for PC and console versions of It Takes Two, and it allows someone who doesn't own the game to play with someone who does.
The Switch port was handled by Turn Me Up Games, the studio that brought Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and the Borderlands: Legendary Collection to Nintendo's latest console.
It Takes Two is also getting the silver-screen treatment, though its storyline is arguably the most distressing part of the game. Amazon Studios is adapting it into a movie, with The Rock rumored as a potential star.
The sequel to The The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is called Tears of the Kingdom and it's due to hit Switch on May 12th, 2023. Nintendo revealed the release date, name and a short teaser for the game during today's Direct showcase.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild debuted in 2017, the same year the Switch came to market. It was a huge critical and commercial success, and the sequel has been hotly anticipated since. The new game was originally announced with a release window in 2022, but in March, Nintendo delayed it into spring 2023.
It wasn't the only major game to be pushed out of 2022. A handful of titles from big publishers, including Starfield, Redfall, Hogwarts Legacy and Forspoken, were delayed into 2023 this year.
From the moment Canon launched the full-frame mirrorless EOS R, everyone wondered if it would use the same mount for APS-C cameras and effectively kill the EF-M system. It did just that in May, launching not just one but two RF APS-C cameras. One was the flagship $1,500 EOS R7 that I tested last month, and the other is the $980 EOS R10, the subject of today’s review.
For that considerably lower price, some features are missing. It has a lower-resolution 24-megapixel sensor versus the R7’s 33 and is missing some of the R7’s highlight features like in-body stabilization and a second card slot.
Surprisingly though, it nearly matches the R7 in shooting speeds and offers similar video specs. It also has the benefit of being smaller and lighter for travel, street shooting and more. But technical details aside, how does it perform in the real world, particularly for casual users and beginners? I took it on vacation and did some sports and street shooting to find out.
Body and handling
Much like with the EF and EF-S lens mounts used on Canon’s DSLRs, the R10 uses the RF-S mount that’s compatible with full-frame RF mount cameras. As such, it supports every full-frame RF lens and also works with the two new RF-S lenses released with the R7 and R10. However, those are only kit lenses, so if you want a prime lens you’ll need to either buy a full-frame lens or use a DSLR EF lens with an adapter.
The R10 isn’t as pretty as its rival, the Fujifilm X-T30, but it’s better-looking and easier to use than any of Sony’s boxy APS-C cameras. It’s quite small and light, weighing just 426 grams, considerably less than the 612-gram R7 and just a bit more than the Sony A6400.
Despite the small size, it’s got a generous array of physical controls. That includes a pair of dials for exposure, a mode selection dial, a joystick, a D-pad and an AF/M button. You also get a focus selector switch on the front, a record button on top and five programmable buttons across the back and top.
Canon didn’t try anything fancy here as it did with the touch control on the EOS-R, and everything is easy to find, particularly if you’re used to Canon cameras. The grip is deep, though your fingers can get cramped with a large lens installed. The menus are typical Canon, so they don’t exactly have a fresh modern look, but they’re easy to use.
Like every other R-series camera so far, the R10 has a flip-out screen for vlogging and selfies. Canon is clearly marketing this at vacationers, young people and YouTubers, so this feature is a must. The EVF is mediocre though, with a low-res 2,368K screen and low magnification. To be fair though, other cameras in this price range have similar EVs.
The R10 has a single SD card slot and small 1,040 mAh LP-E17 battery. That’s also par for the course in this category, but it means that you can’t back up your photos so you could lose them if your card is corrupt. Battery life is also on the low side at 450 shots max (with the monitor) or about an hour of 4K 30p video shooting.
It has a USB-C port for data transfers and charging, but it’s fussy about which chargers you can use. I didn’t have any luck with any of my phone chargers or cables, so you’ll need to check what Canon recommends. It has a micro HDMI port, along with WiFi and Bluetooth and comes with a microphone input but no way to connect headphones. By comparison, Fujifilm’s X-T30 lets you hook up headphones with an iPhone-style USB-C adapter.
Performance
Steve Dent/Engadget
The R10 does the main thing most buyers want: it takes sharp photos, quickly. It can shoot at up to 15 fps in mechanical shutter mode, an impressive figure for a consumer camera and the same as the R7. In electronic mode, it can hit 23 fps, just 7 fps shy of its pricier sibling. However, you’ll need to beware of rolling shutter in silent mode that can skew photos if the camera or subject moves too quickly. But it’s not as bad as the R7 in that respect.
With a smaller buffer than the R7, it can only sustain those bursts for around two seconds, so you’ll need to time your shooting well. It does support UHS-II SD cards, though, so it can clear the buffer quickly if you have a fast card.
The best feature of this camera is the AI-powered Dual Pixel autofocus that’s similar to what you find on the R7 and even the professional EOS R3. It allowed me to keep fast-moving subjects in focus, either by keeping the AF point on them or using face and eye tracking. You can track people, animals and vehicles, but it doesn’t really support tap-to-track like other Canon models.
With people or animals it’ll fluidly track the head or eyes, and does a great job of switching between the two seamlessly. For racing vehicles, it attempts to focus on the helmet of the driver. The system is responsive, reliable and nearly idiot-proof, smoothly tracking subjects whether you’re in point or wide area AF modes. That makes it great for beginners who may not want to dive into the manual to figure out complex settings for subject tracking.
Image quality
The R10 delivers accurate colors with warm skin tones like most photographers want. JPEGs strike a good balance between sharpening and noise reduction, while RAW files deliver decent but not spectacular dynamic range. That allows for a good amount of room to tweak images.
Low-light performance is a weak point, however. You can consider ISO 6400 to be a hard limit, and even then, you’ll get a lot of noise if you try to boost blacks on underexposed shots. ISO 12,800 is possible in a pinch, but I wouldn’t recommend it if you need a clear photo. The lack of in-body stabilization also means you’ll risk getting blurry photos at shutter speeds under 1/100th, unless your hands are spectacularly steady.
As I frequently forgot, though, the R10 does have a built-in flash that’ll let you at least get a clear though not very artistic photo if you don’t have enough light. Just make sure to dial the flash strength down in the settings to avoid blowing out your subject.
Video
Steve Dent/Engadget
The R10 is one of the best APS-C cameras for video. You get sharp, downsampled 4K at 30 fps or less, and cropped video at 60 fps that’s not as sharp but certainly still usable. If you want super slow, it can shoot at 120 fps at 1080p, but video is obviously softer still.
It’s also the only sub-$1,000 APS-C camera I can think of that offers 10-bit video via the HDR PQ mode. However, unlike with most log video, you won’t find a standard lookup table (LUT) for this in Adobe Premiere or other editing systems. So unless you play the video directly to an HDR TV, it can be tricky to work with.
Autofocus isn’t quite as good for video as for photos, as the system occasionally focuses on the background instead of the subject. That doesn’t happen often though, so the video I shot was usually sharp except in a few cases.
The lack of in-body IS means you’ll need to use stabilized lenses for handheld video. And for anything like vlogging, you’ll also want to turn on the electronic stabilization or even use the enhanced IS. Electronic IS adds a significant crop, on top of the 1.6X APS-C crop, so the two kit lenses are just barely wide enough on the 18mm end of the zoom.
Steve Dent/Engadget
Vlogging at 60 fps adds another degree of difficulty, as you get a further 1.56x crop, so the 18mm lens becomes nearly a 50mm lens. While vlogging, I found I could barely fit my head into the frame, even while using a Joby Gorillapod to add some extra arm length.
Rolling shutter can also be an issue, particularly for oversampled 4K 30p video, though it’s far less severe than in Sony’s APS-C cameras. It improves in 4K 60p mode because there’s less sensor to read out, but again, you’re facing a serious crop and softer footage.
As with photos, video quality is excellent with dynamic range on par with rival cameras, though a bit less than what Sony has on offer. The oversampled video is very sharp and again, colors are precise and skin-friendly. You can get extra dynamic range shooting in HDR mode for sunsets and the like, but again, beware that it requires some work to look any good.
Wrap-up
Steve Dent/Engadget
The $980 EOS R10 is a solid start for Canon’s budget crop-sensor RF cameras. It has awesome shooting speeds, excellent autofocus, good image quality, nice handling, a flip-out display and solid video capabilities.
There is room for improvement, though. It’s not as huge a leap as I’d hoped over Sony’s $900, two-year-old A6400. And while it has 10-bit capability and better autofocus than Fujfilm’s $900 X-T30 II, the latter is better overall for video and has slightly higher resolution. It’s also a bit too expensive to qualify as a true budget camera.
Still, this camera is bound to appeal to users who want to step up from a smartphone and are tempted by Canon’s solid reputation. They won’t be disappointed with the R10, because it’s easy to use and delivers where it counts with sharp, nice-looking photos and video.
I wasn’t sure Marvel could shoehorn its characters and stories anywhere else, beyond all the movies, TV shows, games and toys, but now it wants you thinking about those heroes wherever you go. It’s teamed up with Pokémon Godeveloper Niantic to create an augmented reality mobile game launching next year. In Marvel World of Heroes, you can create your own superhero in a Marvel game for the first time, according to Niantic.
You patrol your neighborhood to thwart crimes, take on missions and fend off interdimensional threats and supervillains. You'll be able to team up with friends, as well as the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America and Wolverine. It seems you can also visit multiple alternate realities — in a virtual sense, anyway.
Niantic hopes to replicate the magic of Pokemon Go, something it’s struggled with so far, across properties like Harry Potter and Pikmin. You can register your interest on the game’s site now.
Assassin’s Creed Mirage, the next entry in Ubisoft’s long-running series, will arrive in 2023. Set two decades before the events of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, the game returns to the series’ stealth roots. Ubisoft Bordeaux said protagonist Basim would be one of the fastest free runners in franchise history – all the better to collect collectibles, right? Assassin’s Creed Mirage will be available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Amazon Luna and PC. Oh, and we might finally get a ninja Assassin’s Creed game, too.
Steam Deck owners have a new option for repairs if their device breaks. Valve has opened its own Steam Deck repair centers, which should streamline the process for fixes. Valve also points to iFixit’s guides to support people who prefer to go the DIY route. The repair centers will cover in-warranty fixes free of charge as well as repairs for damage beyond the warranty.
A judge recently ruled that Elon Musk can use the allegations made by Twitter whistleblower Peiter Zatko as part of the arguments in his countersuit against the company. As it turns out, Musk intends to use not just Zatko's claims to win his case but also that the former Twitter executive received a settlement to get out of the $44 billion acquisition deal he made with the social network. Twitter and Musk will face off in a five-day trial scheduled to start on October 17th.
NASA has completed a critical repair of its next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. On Friday, engineers replaced the leaky seal that forced the agency to scrub its most recent attempt to launch Artemis 1. With the new gaskets in place, NASA plans to conduct a fueling test to verify they’re working as intended. In the dry run, engineers will attempt to load the SLS with all 736,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and oxygen it would need during a regular flight. NASA now hopes to complete the test as early as September 17th.
Marvel has teamed up with Pokémon Godeveloper Niantic to create an augmented reality mobile game that will be available worldwide next year. In Marvel World of Heroes, you can create your own superhero in a Marvel game for the first time, according to a Niantic blog post.
Players will be able to forge their hero's identity and origin story. They'll be tasked with patrolling their neighborhood to thwart crimes, take on missions and fend off interdimensional threats and super villains. As you level up, you'll unlock more gear and abilities. You'll be able to team up with your friends, as well as the likes of Spider-Man, Captain America and Wolverine. It seems players can also visit multiple alternate realities — in a virtual sense, anyway.
If you're interested in checking out the game, you can pre-register on the Marvel World of Heroes website. As it often does, Niantic will soft launch the game in select markets before rolling it out more broadly.
