Canon has officially unveiled the EOS R3, its flagship mirrorless camera designed for sports, action and wildlife photography. With the release, it has now filled in the blanks for key specifications not yet revealed in earlier teases, like resolution, ISO range and video capabilities. 

The EOS R3 was never likely to be a high-resolution camera as some folks hoped, but the 24.1-megapixel, back-side illuminated (BSI), stacked sensor (a first for Canon) is a significant upgrade over the 1DX Mark III's 20-megapixel sensor. Canon says it "achieves resolution performance exceeding that of the 30.1-megapixel EOS 5D Mark IV," despite having a lower pixel count.

With the BSI/stacked sensor and latest DIGIC X image processor, the R3 can shoot at 30 fps in electronic shutter mode (down to 1/64,000th of a second) or 12 fps with the mechanical shutter, with full AF tracking and auto-exposure. Better still, it offers blackout-free shooting in electronic mode and the high readout speeds deliver minimal rolling shutter distortion — making it feasible to shoot sports or action with the electronic shutter. 

Canon

The EOS R3 is Canon's first EOS model to support flash photography in electronic shutter mode. That allows for blackout-free flash shooting at up to 15 fps (at 1/180th of a second), which would probably look pretty wild in person. It also offers a silent shutter mode that turns off the artificial shutter and AF acquisition sounds. 

The EOS R3 has a number of new autofocus features, too. The flashiest is Eye Control AF that locks onto focus wherever your eye is looking when you half-press the shutter button. It can be used in combination with flexible zone and subject AF tracking, so it's "possible to quickly shift the target between multiple subjects," Canon says. It notes that the feature can be calibrated differently if you have glasses or contacts, and that "some glasses/contacts may prevent calibration."

Faster calculation speeds give the EOS R3 some new autofocus powers, too. The Dual Pixel AF system can now track in spot, single-point and flexible zone AF, and in lower light (-7.5 EV) than any other model. It can also acquire a subject just by getting close to it, so it will track an animal or human's head, face or eye if you place the AF point near their body, for example. 

Canon

On top of body, face, head and eye detection for humans, the R3 offers a new "Vehicle Priority" tracking system for open cockpit, GT and rally cars, along with on-road and off-road motorcycles. If the AI detects a helmet (on a motorcycle or open cockpit car), it will automatically lock onto that.

The new sensor delivers improved low-light performance too, with the EOS R3 having a normal range of ISO 100-102,400 for stills (expandable to ISO 50-204,800). Canon also promises improved automatic and manual white balance via new AI skills.

The 5-axis in-body stabilizer is the the same as the excellent system on the EOS R5 and R6. As with those models, it delivers up to 8 stops of stabilization with compatible lenses, down to a minimum of 6 stops (still beating most other brands) with other lenses. It also comes with dual card slots, supporting SD and CFexpress type B cards.

The R3 comes with a new 5.76 million dot, 120 FPS OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) developed by Canon. This is a key feature for the sports photographers who might buy it, as many haven't switched to mirrorless because they prefer an optical viewfinder. Canon said it provides a level of clarity and field of view similar to an optical viewfinder "thanks to the HDR technology and high brightness performance." Like the R6 and R5, it also offers a fully-articulating, 4.15 million dot flip-out touchscreen — ideal for video shooters. 

Canon

In fact, the R3 is also a highly competent video camera, too. While it can't shoot 8K video like the R5, it can capture RAW 12-bit 6K widescreen (6,000 x 3,164) video at up to 60 fps to a CFexpress B card, besting Panasonic's video-centric S1H. Canon has yet to say if 6K RAW over HDMI will be supported, however.

It also offers 4K recording at up to 120 fps, albeit in a cropped 1:1 pixel mode to a CFexpress card. Still, you can capture 4K 60p or 30p video using the full width of the sensor, which should make for some crisp video. Again, for the best quality, you'll need a fast SD UHS II or CFexpress card. 10-bit 4:2:2 video will be available for all 4K modes in either HDR PQ or Canon Log 3 modes, with both All-I and long-GOP file options. 

As usual with Canon cameras, the Dual Pixel autofocus should be a strong point for video, as it can lock in to a subject quickly without any hunting. As it stands now, however, the Eye Tracking feature only works for photography, not video. Still, the extra tracking features should make it extra powerful in terms of video autofocus, but we'll need to test the R3 to verify that. As you'd well expect, it has microphone, headphone and HDMI ports — though the latter is a micro and not a full-sized HDMI connector, unfortunately.

Canon

What about heating, the bugbear of the R5? Again, Canon has significantly improved the R3 here. It now offers two temperature options for auto power off: standard and high. The latter will let you shoot 6K RAW or 4K All-I at 60 fps for 60 minutes or more, though the camera might get a bit hot to the touch. 4K 120p All-I is limited to 12 minutes in either mode. Canon promises that you'll be ready to shoot again after just five minutes, though shooting times afterward will be limited in 6K 60p and 4K 120p modes. Normal 4K 30fps shooting (down-sampled or otherwise) has no heat limitations. 

Other features include network streaming functions and wired or wireless transfer to a 5G or LTE smartphone. It uses the 1DX Mark III's LP-E19 battery that delivers 440 shots with the electronic viewfinder and comes with a new electronic hot shoe that supports more accessories, including a smartphone link adapter. Finally, the EOS R1 offers dust and drip resistance equal to the EOS-1DX series DSLRs, and weighs in at 1015 grams (2.24 pounds) including a memory card and battery.

Canon

Along with the EOS R3, Canon unveiled two new lenses, the compact RF16mm F/2.8 STM ultra wide angle model priced at $300 (left) and the RF100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM model priced at $650. Both of those should be decent budget full-frame RF-mount options if you're looking for an ultra wide-angle or tele zoom lens. 

With the EOS R3, Canon has built a supercharged flagship that should appeal to both the serious photographers and videographers who have the bucks to afford one. It arrives at the end of November for $6,000 (body only). 

After an eleventh hour delay late last week, Samsung One UI 4 is ready for public beta testing. If you live in the US, you can sign up to take part in the beta by registering through the Samsung Members app on your Galaxy S21 starting on the morning of September 14th.

Once it becomes available later this year, One UI 4 will be the first version of Samsung’s skin based on Android 12, the latest iteration of Google’s mobile operating system. Google released the final Android 12 beta last week, and most signs point to an official release on October 4th. 

Ahead of today’s announcement, Samsung told Engadget One UI 4 features many of Android 12’s most notable tweaks. For instance, you can customize your phone’s home screen, notifications and wallpapers. It also includes redesigned widgets, as well as new emoji to discover and use.

Sony has permanently shut down the online services for LittleBigPlanet games on PlayStation 3 and PS Vita after "extended downtime." As such, online multiplayer and community levels are no longer available for LittleBigPlanet, LittleBigPlanet 2, LittleBigPlanet 3 (on PS3) and LittleBigPlanet PS Vita. You can still play story modes and local co-op, however.

"We have no doubt that this news will come as a disappointment to a lot of you," the LittleBigPlanet team wrote in a statement. "Ultimately, this is the best way to protect the LittleBigPlanet community and to help ensure that our online environment remains safe."

Sony temporarily shut down LittleBigPlanet's online services in May, following reports of DDOS attacks and hackers posting offensive messages. The PS3 games were on the same servers, so if an issue affected one game, it impacted all of them.

There is a silver lining to this development, though. The developers have updated the PS4 version of LittleBigPlanet 3 and that game's servers are back online. Players once again have access to more than 10 million community levels, including all of the ones users created on the three PS3 games, as Eurogamer noted.

The unbelievably charming platformers have been a staple of PlayStation since MediaMolecule released the original LittleBigPlanet in 2008. It's a shame to see the community levels disappear from the Vita game and those who've been clinging onto the PS3 versions lose access to online services. Still, it's good to see all of the community levels live on elsewhere and that they haven't just vanished forever. 

The latest entry in the franchise, spinoff game Sackboy: A Big Adventure, hit PS4 and PS5 last November.

Sony's September PlayStation showcase was juicy. In just under an hour, the studio showed off more than a dozen upcoming, highly anticipated games heading to the PS4 and PS5, complete with some major surprises and plenty of trailers.

The show started with a bang — the reveal of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, a remake of the classic BioWare RPG being built exclusively for the PS5. This is a big deal, considering the original never came to PlayStation platforms. From there, Sony highlighted a handful of release windows and extended trailers for games including Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, the Alan Wake remaster, Forspoken, GTA V on PS5, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Project Eve, Gran Turismo 7 and God of War Ragnarök.

That wasn't even the end of it. The trailer for tropical, open-world sandbox Tchia ended with a beach full of adorable, pettable crabs, and it was an absolute dream.

Oh, and Spider-Man studio Insomniac Games revealed it's working on two new titles in the Marvel universe: Wolverine and Spider-Man 2, featuring Venom. The Wolverine game was a total surprise and Insomniac didn't share many details, but the teaser trailer was succinct and stylish — much like the show itself.

I once spent an entire college summer doing nothing but play Quake 3 Arena. Well, almost nothing. I was an IT help desk drone during the day, but my nights and weekends were almost entirely filled learning the intricacies of the game's rail gun, rocket jump maneuvers, and inventive mods (if I ruined your day in a Threewave match, sorry). Now that I have a child, a home to take care of, and an endless list of adult responsibilities, I thought I had put all that behind me. Then I started playing Splitgate.

At first, it seems to be a fairly standard free-to-play multiplayer shooter, like a lost Halo clone from a decade ago. But the twist is that it also brings in the core mechanic from Portal. Alongside your normal weaponry, you also have a gun that can create portals on specific areas, no matter how far apart they are. And it's not just for teleporting, either. You can also use peer through those portals to pick off far-away enemies.

That may seem like a small, even quaint, addition to the world of online shooters. But in practice it fundamentally changes how they work. Being able to strategically use portals is just as important as being a crack shot who's memorized every map. And of course, it goes the other way too. If you can sneak up on an enemy with portals, they can do the same to you. Nowhere is safe.

Splitgate's subtle complexity is what makes it addictive. All of a sudden, walls high up on the map could give you a vantage point to snipe oblivious foes. A chase through a corridor could easily get wild as you jump between multiple portals. And being able to sneak up on a camping sniper by throwing a portal behind them is always satisfying.

I've gotten into plenty of shooters over the years, but they've never quite scratched my Quake 3 itch (perhaps because I never again had vast amounts of free time to eat pizza and play all day). Battle Royale titles like PUBG and Apex Legend changed the landscape with enormous maps with 100 players, but they've always felt more like tense survival games than huge fragfests. They take longer to play, and one screw-up could take you out of a match entirely. I didn't know how much I missed the days of simple multiplayer shooters, games with quick matches that deliver a direct dose of adrenaline and dopamine all at once, until I started playing Splitgate.

Even though it's become wildly popular over the last few months, Splitgate hasn't officially launched yet. But its most recent beta release, Season 0, has added a lot on consoles and PCs. That includes new character models, more maps and an infection gameplay mode. I've been playing earlier betas for the last few months, but now it's finally starting to look like a complete product, with more UI polish and player models I don't entirely hate. It's also the perfect time to give it a shot before elite players make online matches less enjoyable to play.

Since it's a free-to-play game, Splitgate developer 1047 Games is following in the footsteps of modern shooters by making you pay for items, characters and Battle Passes to level yourself up. It's all cosmetic, but I've found myself throwing them a few bucks for holographic armor and other trinkets just because I enjoy playing the game so much. Spending $20 in add-ons doesn't seem that bad for something that’s already given me dozens of hours of joy.

1047 Games

If you’re considering jumping into Splitgate, I have one piece of advice: Learn to love the damn portals. Treating it like a normal run-and-gun FPS is a recipe for failure, no matter how great you are. It’s a game about quick movement across the map, sneaky shots through your portals, and sneaking up on your enemies. It’s not for everyone, but for players who find joy in a five-minute, fast-paced team deathmatch mode, it’s practically perfect.

Since Sony announced its latest flagship soundbar at the end of July, we’ve been patiently waiting for the company to release the HT-A7000 to put it through testing. That hasn’t happened yet, but starting today you can pre-order the unit, as well as the supporting speakers Sony announced at the same time, from Amazon.

Part of what makes the $1,300 HT-A7000 intriguing is all the features Sony packed into it. Highlights include an HDMI 2.1 connection with eARC and both 8K and 4K/120 Hz passthrough, in addition to Dolby Atmos support. It also comes with the company’s DSEE Extreme technology for upscaling compressed audio. Another nifty feature is a set of built-in microphones the speaker can use to calibrate itself to your space.

Starting today, you can also pre-order the SA-SW5 and SA-SW3 Sony announced alongside the HT-A7000. The $700 SW5 is a 300-watt subwoofer with a 7-inch speaker, while the more affordable SA-SW3 will give you 200-watts of bass for $400. Also up for pre-order today are the SA-RS3S satellite speakers. They’re priced at $350 for the pair.

If you want to take your home theatre in a different direction, Sony’s HT-A9 system is another option. $1,800 nets you four cylindrical speakers the company says you can adapt to almost any space and layout. The system comes with a wireless control box that features an HDMI 2.1 connection with eARC output and 8K and 4K/120 Hz passthrough alongside Dolby Vision. They also come with Sony’s Sound Mapping Technology, which the company claims allows them to create a more immersive soundstage.

After over a year of canceled auto shows due to the pandemic, Munich's IAA Mobility 2021 auto show is the first big opportunity for automakers to display their upcoming vehicles to the masses.

Companies including Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen, and Porsche dropped new electric concepts and even showed off some production vehicles. Engadget has been in Germany this week, and here are four of our favorite new models.

Mercedes-Benz EQE sedan

Right out of the gate, Mercedes took no time to unveil its latest electric sedan, the EQE. While the EQS is the top of the luxury heap, the EQE gives potential buyers the opportunity to slide into Mercedes luxury without dropping as much cash. The EQE shares many of the same design elements and features as the more-expensive EQS including the optional 6-inch Hyperscreen and rear-wheel drive.

Mercedes-Benz EQG electric concept

Not stopping at sedans, Mercedes also unveiled a near-production concept version of the iconic G-Class aka, G Wagon. The EQG has the same distinctive look of the rugged, expensive offroader, but with a whole lot of lighting flourishes. 

How many of those will make it to production is unknown, and there's also no word on what it’ll cost and how long its range will be. But if Mercedes can pull off with the G-Wagon what it did with the EQS then the future of offroading — or driving around while shopping for high-end clothing — will be electrified.

BMW i Vision CIrcular Concept EV

BMW already has two electric production vehicles, the i4 and iX, headed to the US. In Munich, it took the opportunity to unveil the i Vision Circular concept, a vehicle that’s more about the future of manufacturing than it is about the future of driving. Built entirely out of recycled materials, the Circular is manufactured from mono-materials that are easy to recycle and take apart.

Porsche Mission R electric concept race car

For those excited about motorsports and the future of sports cars, the Porsche Mission R concept race car gave fans of the German brand a peek at what the future has in store. The all-wheel-drive vehicle uses a 900-volt architecture that supports DC fast charging at up to 340kW, and its battery is tuned for intense track days rather than cruising around town. While it’s currently a concept, the technologies found in the Mission R will likely make their way to the motorsports division and potentially into a future Cayman electric.

Samsung is making its Android-based Galaxy Watch 4 more fashion forward via a new collaboration with designer Sami Miró, the company announced. The Sami Miró Vintage collection features six watchbands and three watch faces, all with a theme of sustainability and wellness, the company announced. 

Samsung

Two colors called "Stratus Sky" and "Midnight Black" are made from an "innovative apple peel skin material sourced from waste recovered from the fruit industry," Samsung noted. They go with most outfits, offer the premium look of leather but are "completely vegan and cruelty free." The other bands are made of an eco-friendly, non-toxic TPU material that are non-plasticized and can be recycled. Those come in "Aurora Night," "Cloud Navy," "Earth Sunrise" and "Dawn Atlas" colors. 

The color palette of the bands runs from violet to aqua blue to a mauve pink, along with the black and grey leather-look models. Those colors are all found in the watch faces as well, dubbed SMV Atlas I, SMV Serenity and SMV Atlas II. 

"The collection draws inspiration from the beauty and colors of Mother Earth to serve as a reminder to prioritize mindfulness, health, wellness, and sustainability each day," Samsung wrote. That matches up with the Galaxy Watch 4's focus on health, with features that can measure oxygen, stress, water intake and sleep patterns. It also offers fitness features like guided workouts, group challenges and more. The limited-edition collection is now available on Samsung.com starting at $40. 

Early-aught headliner Radiohead has teamed with Epic Games, makers of Gears of War and Fortnite, to compose "an upside-down digital/analogue universe created from Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood’s original artwork and audio design by Nigel Godrich. It commemorates the coming of age of Radiohead’s records, Kid A and Amnesiac," per an Epic Games rep.

The project, developed by namethemachine and Arbitrarily Good Productions, will be available on multiple platforms including PS5, PC and Mac this November. The news follows earlier reports of upcoming reissues for Kid A and Amnesiac this fall (and as soon as late this month) along with Kid Amnesiae, an LP of b-sides, which you can listen to one of below.

Sony is working on not one but two new Marvel games. During its PlayStation Showcase, the company revealed Insomniac Games is developing a sequel to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man and 2020's Spider-Man: Miles Morales. Slated to come out sometime in 2023 exclusively on PS5, Spider-Man 2 will feature both Peter Parker and Miles Morales, with the two set to face off against Venom.   

Sony didn't share many other details on the project, but based on the trailer it looks Spider-Man 2 may support co-op play. In a post over on the PlayStation blog published following the event, Insomniac's Ryan Schneider said much of the original team that worked on the first game is back for the sequel. He also revealed Tony Todd, best known for his role in the Candyman films, will voice Venom. Both Yuri Lowenthal and Nadji Jeter will also reprise their roles as Peter and Miles.