Hyundai's LA Auto Show concepts include more than just a lounge on wheels. As Autoblognotes, the company's Kia badge has unveiled the Concept EV9 as a peek at the possible "next model" in its electric vehicle lineup. The angular design language is a centerpiece, but the real highlight may be technology that, in some cases, eclipses the EV6. For one, the cockpit is dominated by a single 27-inch display that covers both driver and passenger needs — it's not as huge as the Hyperscreen in the Mercedes EQS, but it's more expansive than the EV6's dual 12-inch panels.

You can also expect solid performance with up to 300 miles of range and 350kW charging that brings the Concept EV9 from a 10 percent charge to 80 percent in 30 minutes. The Concept EV9 won't outlast a Tesla Model Y, then, but it might deliver shorter pit stops.

Kia

There are some obvious concept car touches. Apart from the yoke-like wheel, the EV9 can turn into a social hub when it's stationary. A Pause mode turns the second row into a table and swings the front row to face the back, while Enjoy Mode pivots the third row and opens the tailgate for parties and marvelling at nature. You can also expect the obligatory eco-friendly materials like recycled fishnets (flooring), reused plastic bottles (seats) and a vegan leather interior.

Kia hasn't said how closely this might resemble a production EV9, although we wouldn't be surprised if the company cuts the rotating seats, yoke and giant 22-inch wheels (among other frills) for any real-world model. The biggest question may be price. Kia sold its First Edition EV6 for $58,500, but that was a limited, maxed-out version. We'd expect Kia to offer more aggressive prices if there is a shipping EV9, although the road-ready machine could easily cost more than the Niro EV.

Nissan is finally ready to offer pricing and other tangible details for its electric Ariya crossover. The automaker has started taking reservations for the Ariya beginning at $45,950 for the Venture+ model. That's more than the $40,000 ballpark from before, but still brings the price down to $38,450 with a federal tax credit. The Venture+ may be the best model for long drives, too. You'll have only a 238HP motor with front wheel drive, but you'll get the longest estimated range at 300 miles. The higher-capacity 87kWh battery is standard on all currently announced models.

The $48,950 Evolve+ builds on that formula with an "around view" monitor and a powered moonroof, albeit with a shorter 285-mile range. The reservation-only Premiere trim starts at $53,450, but gives you access to the Ariya's signature "Sunrise Copper" color, hands-off highway driving from ProPilot Assist 2.0 and ProPilot Park. If you want all-wheel drive, you'll currently have to splurge on the $58,950 Platinum+ variant with 389HP, a hands-free liftgate, Nappa leather and a reduced 265-mile range.

All models are due to arrive in fall 2022. You'll need to place a $500 refundable deposit and choose a preferred dealer, but you can complete the final purchase online and have the Ariya delivered to your home. You won't have to wade through the usual hassles of in-person dealership sales.

The price slots the Ariya between the $39,995 Volkswagen ID.4 and Tesla's Model Y (currently $53,940), with the in-between range and features to match. It may face tough competition as a result. However, that might be the precise appeal — this is a middle-of-the-road EV from a well-known badge. Where the Leaf was aimed at early adopters (and lately the cost-conscious), the Ariya promises to be a thoroughly mainstream vehicle that reaches more first-time EV owners and helps Nissan electrify the rest of its lineup.

What better way to show off the splendor of 8K visuals than with nature programming? That seems to be Roku's train of thought as it adds the first premium 8K channel to its platform: The Explorers.

The only 8K Roku TVs on the market right now are from TCL. The first of those sets was released in 65” and 75” formats in August. TCL first showed off the TV at CES. 

Ultra-high definition premium content from The Explorers (which also offers free content through its channel) will typically cost $3/month. A tenth of that fee will be donated to The Explorers Foundation, which aims to preserve biodiversity. However, if you're have an an TCL Roku TV 6-Series 8K display, you'll get a three-month free trial.

Displays with 8K capabilities can show video in up to four times the resolution of standard 4K content. But the trouble is, there isn't much 8K content that early adopters can watch on their new TVs. YouTube is perhaps the main hub of 8K footage at the minute.

TCL noted that 8K cameras are becoming more commonplace, and OnePlus 9 Pro owners even have one in their pockets. So, there's much more 8K content on the way. Still, buying an 8K set is mainly about future proofing for the time being, rather than playing games and watching TV shows and movies at home in a higher resolution right now.

The 2021 Game Awards nominees have been revealed, and it's safe to say there are a few clear frontrunners alongside the usual eclectic mix. Arkane's time-warping Deathloop and Sony's multi-dimensional Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart were two of the most frequently nominated titles, picking up five nods each that included Game of the Year, art, sound and acting categories.

Other multi-nominated titles included the co-op action platformer It Takes Two, the long-expected Psychonauts 2 and the just-released Forza Horizon 5. Metroid Dread and Resident Evil Village also reached the GOTY and action shortlists.

This was also a good year for games with accessibility and, in some cases, an important message. The empathy-driven Life is Strange: True Colors made both the "Games for Impact" and "Innovation in Accessibility" nominees, while blockbusters like Forza, Ratchet & Clank and Far Cry 6 are also in the running for the accessibility award. Creative games like the blink-based Before Your Eyes and the introspective No Longer Home are candidates for the Games for Impact award. Simply speaking, you don't need to look very far to find innovative titles in 2021.

The awards ceremony takes place December 9th. There are bound to be some upsets and "really?" picks (even the buggy Cyberpunk 2077 is up for some awards), but the picks so far appear to reflect the gaming zeitgeist in a year where originals and sequels vied for your attention.

When Riot Forge said it would soon provide more long-awaited details about League of Legends spin-off Ruined King, few fans would have expected Riot Games' publishing arm to suddenly thrust the game into the world. But hey, guess what? That's exactly what happened. 

Ruined King: A League of Legends Story is out today on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Steam, GOG and the Epic Games Store. It costs $30 and it's backward compatible on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A version of the game is in the works for those consoles and there'll be a free upgrade available from the previous-gen systems.

This is a single-player, turn-based RPG developed by Airship Syndicate, the studio behind Darksiders: Genesis. It features some familiar faces for League of Legends fans, including the Champions Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Braum, Pyke, Ahri and Yasuo. You'll assemble a party, explore Bilgewater and venture to the Shadow Isles to learn about the secrets behind the deadly Black Mist.

Ruined King was initially supposed to arrive earlier this year. Riot announced the RPG back at the 2019 edition of The Game Awards.

As it turns out, this isn't the only LoL spin-off you can play starting today. Side-scrolling rhythm runner Hextech Mayhem, which costs $10, also hit Switch and PC. It's also coming to Netflix's library of games in the near future at no extra cost to subscribers.

In addition, Riot Forge provided an update on another project it announced a while back, Conv/rgence: A League of Legends Story. Double Stallion is developing that game, which is now set to arrive on consoles and PC next year. Song of Nunu, from Tequila Works, is also scheduled to arrive next year. And that's not all. Riot Forge also revealed during its showcase that a game set in the Demacia region is in development.

If you're looking for a useful tech stocking stuffer for a loved one, Samsung's T7 series of portable SSDs is a good option. We've been fans of these palm-sized drives for a while thanks to their compact designs and fast speeds, but they do come at a premium price. But now you can get the 1TB Samsung T7 drive for $130, which is $40 off and the best price we've seen. And for those that need as much extra storage as possible, the 2TB version is also on sale for $250, or $80 off its normal price.

The T7 and its fingerprint reader-toting counterpart, the T7 Touch, are essentially the same drive aside from the latter's added security feature. Both have compact, shock-resistant bodies that are small enough to fit into nearly any bag or backpack, and they're strong enough to withstand drops from up to six feet. The T7 also uses ePCM technology and Dynamic Thermal Guard to control heat levels, so even when you're pushing it to its limits, it should not overheat. As far as performance goes, the T7 supports reads speeds up to 1,050 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,000 MB/s.

And just because the T7 doesn't have a fingerprint reader doesn't mean you can't protect your files from prying eyes. It has optional password protection, so only those who know the password can even check out the files saved on the device. And since it comes with both USB-C to C and USB-C to A cables, you can use it with most devices you'll have around your home, including tablets and some game consoles.

Samsung's T7 only goes up to 2TB, but you're in luck if you want even more storage in a similar package. SanDisk's Extreme portable SSD in 4TB is on sale right now, too, for $500 — that's $200 off and the best price we've seen. This drive has similar read and write speeds as the Samsung T7, and it has a water and dust-resistant design, optional password protection and 256‐bit AES hardware encryption.

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Snapchat’s in-app camera is now able to recommend recipes based on the food you have laying around your kitchen. Food Scan is the latest addition to the app’s “scan” functionality, which also allows users to identify plants and dog breeds and items of clothing.

Now, scanning a food will turn up recipes containing the item, as well as a link to the Wikipedia entry for the ingredient. Snap has partnered with allrecipes.com on the feature, which it says can recognize more than 1,200 items and suggest more than 4,500 dishes.

I got the chance to preview the feature, and the app’s food scanning abilities were mostly spot-on. It was able to correctly identify a variety of produce and recommend relevant recipes (including a persimmon bar recipe that looked intriguing). Like most of these types of visual search features, though, it’s not entirely foolproof. It suggested cherry recipes when I scanned a bag of cherry tomatoes. And a hunk of ginger managed to totally stump the feature. No matter what angle I held the camera, Snapchat was unable to recognize it as food, and instead recommended reptile and human hand-themed AR lenses.

The feature is also not meant to work with packaged foods — Snapchat has a separate feature that can scan those items for nutritional info — so it won’t be able to help you figure out what to do with that random can of tomato sauce or whatever else is collecting dust in the back of your pantry. But even with those limitations, the feature is still a useful starting point for when you’re out of ideas or just want to try something new. And, even when it doesn’t quite work, you might still find an entertaining new AR lens to try out.

Sony has updated the PS Remote Play app on Android, which now has some extra controller features for Android 12 users. You can now connect a DualSense controller and use it to play PlayStation 5 games remotely. Sony brought DualSense support to the iOS version of the app earlier this year.

There are also some upgrades for those who use a DualShock 4 (the PS4 controller) with the app. There's now support for the touchpad, motion sensor and rumble features, as well as a battery indicator. Although those features are only available to those on Android 12, the controller is compatible with Android 10 and 11 as well.

In September, Sony added the option to stream PS4 and PS5 games to the app over a mobile data connection, in addition to WiFi. So, wherever you are, you might be able to sneak in some Deathloop or Returnal with a DualSense.

Balmuda, the Japanese company behind the staggeringly expensive steam-powered toaster, has announced its first ever smartphone. It's a small device with a 4.9-inch display, and as 9to5Google notes, its looks are highly reminiscent of the HTC One X that was released almost a decade ago. While Balmuda is known for designing unusual upmarket appliances in its home country, this announcement isn't entirely surprising: It revealed back in May that it was making a foray into the smartphone market before the year ends.

The company teamed up with Kyocera to manufacture the Android device, which has 5G connectivity and supports wireless charging. Its 4.9-inch screen has a 1080p resolution, and it comes with a 48-megapixel rear camera, an 8-megapixel front-facing camera, as well as a fingerprint sensor. The Balmuda Phone is powered by a Snapdragon 765 processor, and it has 6GB of RAM, 128GB of internal storage and a 2,500 mAH battery capacity.

At the moment, the company only has plans to release the phone in Japan. Those curious enough to give the device a shot can get it with a plan with Softbank, though they could also purchase an unlocked version if that's the better option. Pre-orders in the country will begin on November 17th at 10AM Japan time, and shipping will start on November 26th. Balmuda didn't say whether the device will eventually be available elsewhere, but the company did release the iconic "The Toaster" in the US last year for those who don't mind paying $329 to get perfectly toasted bread every time. 

Shortly after releasing Impossible Nuggets as well as Impossible Sausage in grocery stores, the California-based company is introducing yet another faux meat product. It’s called Impossible Meatballs, and unlike the others, it’s actually debuting in retail before restaurants. Impossible Meatballs will be available at Walmart stores this month and at additional retailers later this year. They’re priced at around $6.48 per pack.

Instead of being made out of one “animal,” the Impossible Meatball was designed to be a mix of both “beef” and “pork.” According to the company, each meatball is a custom mix of Impossible Burger and Impossible Sausage along with a “homestyle meatball” seasoning blend that includes dried onions and garlic. They come in a resealable freezer bag, and each contains around 14 or so meatballs. There’s around 12 grams of protein per serving.

Engadget

I received a sample of the meatballs over the weekend. They come already cooked so all you need to do is reheat them via the oven, microwave, stovetop or air fryer. The oven method was listed as recommended so I baked them in a single layer on a baking tray in a 350-degree oven for 17 minutes. The end result is quite delicious — very savory and moist. I could still tell they weren’t really made out of meat though; they lacked a certain texture that I missed. But when I doused them in marinara sauce, that didn’t quite matter as much.

In addition to selling Impossible Meatballs, Walmart will also introduce a dedicated plant-based section of its frozen aisle that will feature various Impossible Foods products. That includes Impossible Chicken Nuggets, Impossible Sausage in spicy and savory flavors, Impossible Burger and the aforementioned Impossible Meatballs.

ErinKunkel

According to the company, Impossible Meatballs is a retail-led product aimed at grocery shoppers. That’s a slightly different strategy than the company’s previous faux meat products, which debuted at restaurants first before being rolled out to grocery stores. However, Impossible Meatballs will still be available for restaurants later this month.