Ford teased the prospect of 3D-printing your own accessories when it unveiled the Maverick hybrid pickup truck, and it's acting on that promise. According to 3D Printing Industry and Newsweek, the brand has released CAD files to help you 3D-print add-ons compatible with the Ford Integrated Tether System (FITS) slots behind the center console and under-seat storage bins. You can build a cupholder that fits your favorite drink, or a phone mount tailored to your latest handset.

You could say Ford is late. Enthusiasts have already designed FITS accessories in the months since the Maverick's launch. You can even find unofficial FITS slots for the dashboard cubby and non-Ford vehicles. The official files should make it that much easier to create add-ons, though, and it won't be surprising if there's a surge in user-made designs.

Ford

The company is still happy to sell pre-made FITS accessories. As design manager Scott Anderson told Newsweek, however, the 3D printing support represents a "pretty big shift" in Ford's attitude toward users. It's an acknowledgment do-it-yourself accessory making is on the rise, and that customizing a vehicle can include more than just performance tuning or cosmetics. What Ford loses in accessory sales it might gain in loyal fans who buy the brand's vehicles again.

Uber and Lyft drivers in New York City are about to get a boost in their paychecks. Last week NYC Mayor Eric Adams announced that the city would increase its minimum driver pay rate for both Uber and Lyft, the second such move since 2018. Both ride hail apps will have to pay their NYC drivers a minimum of $1.161 per mile and $0.529 per minute, which amounts to roughly a 5.3 percent raise.

It’s the first bit of good news for gig workers in one of the world’s most expensive cities in a while. NYC ride hail drivers have spent the past few years fighting for the right to unionize, which would allow them to bargain for better pay and workplace benefits. However, a union has yet to materialize despite numerous protests.

“Uber, Lyft, and Via drivers are part of the largest private sector workforces in the state. They are the anchor in many neighborhoods and are majority immigrants of color working to transition out of poverty," said Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance, a group that represents ride hail and taxi drivers in the city, in a statement. "We all know the price of basic needs, like bread and milk, have gone up, and, for drivers, so have operating costs, like fuel and repairs. This 5.3 percent raise will help thousands of families find security and give many the chance to live under better conditions.”

The policy will go into effect on March 1, and impact an estimated 90,000 drivers in New York City, according to NY 1.

The NYC raise is the latest victory in a global effort to improve the livelihoods of gig economy drivers. Uber and Lyft are currently locked in a battle in Massachusetts and California over its classification of drivers as “independent contractors”, a label which frees both companies from paying drivers minimum wage, overtime, and other benefits. Last August a judge ruled that a California ballot measure that classified ride-hailing drivers as contractors was unconstitutional, a decision that Uber and Lyft are appealing.

A number of Samsung storage gadgets are on sale right now, making it a good time to pick up an extra portable drive to keep in your bag, a microSD card for your tablet or console or even an SSD for your new PS5. Notably, Samsung's T7 portable SSD in 1TB is back down to its Black Friday price of $110, which is 35 percent less than usual. Also discounted are the Samsung 980 Pro SSD in 2TB, which is $150 off and down to $280, and the 128GB Pro Plus microSD card, which is nearly half off and down to $21.

The T7 is one of our favorite portable drives thanks to its fast speeds and pocket-friendly design. It supports reads speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000 MB/s, and it has ePCM technology and Dynamic Thermal Guard to control heat levels. It doesn't have a built-in fingerprint reader like the T7 Touch does, but otherwise its shock-resistant aluminum unibody is the same. It also works with a number of different devices thanks to the USB-C to C and USB-C to A cables that come with it, and its companion PC, Mac and Android apps.

If you're looking for a PlayStation 5-compatible SSD to store your game collection, Samsung's 2TB 980 Pro is a solid option. You can pick up the drive by itself for $280, which is an all-time-low price, or you can spring for the SSD with a heatsink (which you'll need to use it with the PS5) for $20 extra. It earned a spot on our list of preferred PS5 drives thanks to its reliability and and fast read and write speeds.

Those with Nintendo Switches should consider the 128GB Samsung Pro Plus microSD card, which is 48 percent off and down to only $21. If you plan on keeping your games library with you at all times, you'll need a microSD card to expand the paltry amount of onboard storage that the Switch comes with. This Samsung card comes with a USB adapter and supports sequential read speeds up to 160 MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 120 MB/s.

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

Whether you pre-ordered one of Samsung's new Galaxy smartphones or have another Android handset, the company's Galaxy Watches are the wearables we'd recommend pairing with it. The Galaxy Watch 4 came out last year and earned a score of 85 from us, and we consider it to be the best Wear OS smartwatch available right now. You can pick one of the LTE models for less right now at Amazon as they are up to 27 percent off. The 40mm LTE Galaxy Watch 4 is $80 off and down to $220 while the 44mm LTE version is also $80 off and down to $250.

The Galaxy Watch 4 was the first to run Wear OS with One UI, which were the products of a closer collaboration between Google and Samsung. Tizen lovers need not fear — the interface doesn't look too different from that on previous Samsung smartwatches. Arguably the biggest perk of Wear OS is that the Galaxy Watch 4 can download apps directly from the Play Store. Samsung also added gesture controls to the Watch 4, which let you do things like flick your wrist to answer or dismiss calls.

In addition to smart features like receiving smartphone alerts, answering calls and messages and using apps on your wrist, the Galaxy Watch 4 has almost all of the fitness features most people will look for in a smartwatch. This includes a built-in heart rate monitor and GPS, plus support for sleep tracking (along with snore detection), blood oxygen measurements and more. It also has a new 3-in-1 biometric sensor that enables body mass scans using bioelectrical impedance analysis.

Samsung packed a lot of value into the Galaxy Watch 4, and the LTE models on sale take it one step further by letting you take and make calls, send texts and stream music without your phone present. If you like the idea of leaving your phone at home and still having some access to your digital life, an LTE smartwatch like this is a good option.

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

Finally, the two newest consoles are hitting their exclusive-game groove. Microsoft finally has its Halo, and while Forbidden West is available on PlayStation 4, it was made to sing on the more powerful PS5. Senior Editor Jessica Conditt has spent some time with the game, ahead of its launch later this week — read her full review right here — and, well, she likes it. (What’s not to like about an underwater Vegas?)

It’s going to be a busy few weeks for gamers. Destiny 2’s latest expansion, the Witch Queen, lands, alongside the hugely anticipated Elden Ring, which is coming to both Xbox and PlayStation. Meanwhile, I’m going low-fi and playing through Earthbound — a game from 1994 — on my Switch.

— Mat Smith

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Watch the first trailer for 'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power'

The 60-second teaser dropped at Super Bowl LVI.

Amazon

Amazon’s epic is almost here. The series is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth, thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. It will be drawing material from J.R.R.Tolkien's The Silmarillion, which details key events like Sauron's story and the forging of the rings of power. To whet your appetite, check out the minute-long teaser from this weekend’s Super Bowl.

Continue reading.

VR-related insurance claims increased by 31 percent in 2021 in the UK

Insurance companies are seeing a lot of claims for cracked TVs.

UK insurer Aviva said last year it saw a 31 percent increase in home contents claims involving VR headsets and a 68 percent overall increase since 2016. In 2021, the average claim for VR-related accidental damages was about £650 or $880, and most incidents involved cracked TVs screens. It’s reflecting a boom in VR: On Christmas Day 2021, the Oculus app hit the top of Apple’s App Store charts for the first time. Please remember where you are, folks.

Continue reading.

Facebook removed anti-vaccine trucker protest groups run by foreign actors

Many of the pages were scams from Vietnam and Romania.

Facebook has recently removed several “trucker convoy” groups and pages run by scammers in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Romania and other countries. The company said many of those groups had recently changed their names to adopt ones that use terms like “trucker,” “freedom” and “convoy” in hopes of taking advantage of the sudden interest in the rallies occurring in Canada. Many of those same pages included links to websites that sold pro-Trump and anti-vaccine merchandise. At the same time, most of the accounts that took part in those groups were tied to real people.

Continue reading.

Lamborghini wants to continue manufacturing gas-powered cars into the 2030s

Of course it does.

Lamborghini hopes to continue producing cars with internal combustion engines (ICE) into the next decade, CEO Stephan Winkelmann told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag this week. “After hybridization, we will wait to see whether it will be possible to offer vehicles with an internal combustion engine beyond 2030,” he said in the interview. Even if Lamborghini continues producing ICE cars into the 2030s, it may not be able to sell those vehicles in many places. In the US and other parts of the world, governments have moved to ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars by mid-decade.

Continue reading.

More electric vehicle drivers will soon be able to charge their car's battery when they stop by the drugstore. EV charging network Volta is bringing another 1,000 DC fast-charging stalls to 500 Walgreens locations.

This marks a significant expansion of their partnership. The pair started working together in 2019 and there are currently Volta stations at 49 Walgreens stores. The companies say the latest agreement builds on Volta's plans to expand access to its DC fast-charging network and aligns with Walgreens' support of efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

"Walgreens is an ideal match for faster forms of Volta charging given the average time a Walgreens shopper typically spends in-store," Volta founder and CEO Scott Mercer said in a statement. "The next phase of our work with Walgreens will provide people with a quick, convenient, and meaningful charge that is tailored to their shopping experience while bringing us another step closer to a clean energy future."

Drugstores and grocery stores are good spots for EV charging stations, since drivers can top up their battery while grabbing some essentials. On top of that, the easier it is for folks to access fast-charging stations, the more likely they might be to switch to an EV. This week, the Biden administration announced a $5 billion plan to improve EV charging infrastructure across the US.

Amazon used Super Bowl LVI to show off the first trailer for its ambitious The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series. The 60 second teaser gives us our first look at some of the main characters, potential action and visual effects. "Haven't you ever wondered... what else is out there?" a voice intones to kick it off. 

As we learned earlier, the series is set in the Second Age of Middle Earth, thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings. It will be drawing material from J.R.R.Tolkien's The Silmarilion, which details key events like Sauron's story and the forging of the rings of power.  

The new teaser briefly shows several principal characters including Elrond (Robert Aramayo), Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). Other stars include Benjamin Walker, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Joseph Mawle, Sara Zwangobani and Megan Richards.

Amazon spent $250 on the rights to the material and reportedly spent $465 million on the first season alone, according The Hollywood Reporter. It's hard to tell from the trailer whether all that money made it to the screen, but we'll find out for sure when it arrives on Amazon Prime Video on September 2nd, 2022. The series has already been renewed for a second season. 

Lamborghini hopes it can continue producing cars with internal combustion engines into the next decade, CEO Stephan Winkelmann told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag this week. “After hybridization, we will wait to see whether it will be possible to offer vehicles with an internal combustion engine beyond 2030,” he said in an interview with the outlet. “One possibility would be to keep combustion engine vehicles alive via synthetic fuels.”

If Lamborghini actually continues making ICE cars into the 2030s, it would put the Volkswagen-owned automaker at odds with much of the industry. Consider Dodge, for instance. The Stellantis-owned brand plans to debut its first all-electric muscle car in 2024. That same year, it also plans to stop producing some of its most popular gasoline-powered models, including the Challenger and Charger. By contrast, Lamborgini won’t offer a fully electric car before the end of the decade.

Practically speaking, even if Lamborghini continues producing ICE cars into the 2030s, it may not be able to sell those vehicles in many places. In the US and other parts of the world, governments have moved to ban the sale of gasoline-powered cars by mid-decade. Countries like Germany have made carveouts for vehicles powered by synthetic fuels, but no company is producing the gasoline alternative at scale yet and may not for many years to come. 

Toyota is plowing more money into EV production in the US. Just a few months after the automaker announced a $240 million investment in its West Virginia plant, it's pumping another $73 million into the facility.

The company says this will boost hybrid transaxle production capacity to 600,000 units per year. Workers at the plant will also start making around 120,000 rear motor stators annually to bolster production of electric motors. The plant can currently roll 1 million transmissions and engines off the production line per year. Following the latest investment, Toyota will have put over $2 billion into the plant.

Meanwhile, a separate $17 million investment will enable Toyota's Tennessee plant to make approximately 300,000 more hybrid transaxle cases and housings per year (the current capacity is around 1 million). The factory's workers also manufacture around 1.8 million engine blocks a year. The company says these parts are essential for all the Toyota and Lexus EVs it assembles in North America. This brings the automaker's total investment in the plant so far to $389 million.

Toyota is on a mission to offer electrified options across its entire lineup, as well as for Lexus vehicles, by 2025 and to release 30 EV models by 2030. Investing more heavily in EV production will help it reach those goals. Increasing EV battery production is important too, and the company recently announced plans to build a $1.29 billion battery plant in North Carolina.

Tech news season is in full swing as Samsung launched its Galaxy S22 flagship phones this week, along with new Tab S8 tablets. This week on the podcast, Cherlynn is joined by senior writer Sam Rutherford and special guest Chris Velazco from The Washington Post to discuss Samsung’s new gear. The trio also recap some of the best games announced at Nintendo Direct, followed by a look at the week’s biggest news including Peloton’s layoffs, Steam Deck previews and the Olympics.

Listen below, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!

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Topics

• Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S22 Ultra and Tab S8 series – 1:30

• Nintendo’s first Direct of 2022 – 27:02

• Peloton’s layoffs and terrible severance – 39:33

• Microsoft promises COD will stay multi-platform for now – 48:02

• Valve's Steam Deck: The early impressions are in! – 51:15

• Is the Louis Vuitton smartwatch tacky or awesome? – 55:57

• Grindr geofences the Olympic Village – 1:00:31

• Working on – 1:04:56

• Pop Culture picks – 1:07:15

Video livestream

Credits
Hosts: Cherlynn Low and Sam Rutherford
Guest: Chris Velazco
Producer: Ben Ellman
Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos, Owen Davidoff, Luke Brooks
Graphics artists: Luke Brooks, Brian Oh
Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien