Home chefs looking to experiment more should give sous vide cooking a try, but that's easier said than done if you're starting from scratch. Many sous vide machines cost hundreds of dollars, but those looking to give the method a go don't have to spend that much now thanks to a new sale on Anova's Precision Cooker Nano. Both Amazon and Best Buy have the device for $99, which is $30 off and a return to the best price we've seen all year.
A machine like the Nano is the most important piece of equipment you'll need for sous vide cooking that you probably don't already have in your kitchen. The method involves cooking food in a sealable bag that's submerged in heated water. The Precision Cooker Nano and other devices like it constantly circulate the water and keep it at the right temperature, ensuring your food is never over- or undercooked.
The Nano is the entry-level machine in Anova's lineup, making it the right pick for sous vide newbies. It uses 750 watts of power to heat up water and it'll run for up to 3,000 hours before it needs to be recharged. With that amount of power, you'll be able to easily cook meals for up to four people.
Aside from wattage and battery capacity, it differs from the more advanced devices in Anova's lineup in its clamp and connectivity. It has a fixed clamp, rather than a removable and adjustable one, that you'll use to secure the machine to your cooking pot. It also connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth rather than WiFi, but that still gives you access to the customizable controls in the Anova mobile app. You can set the cooking time and keep track of your cook while it's cooking in the app, plus the app gives you access to a bunch of recipes you can try, too. While it may be tempting to spring for the standard, $199 Precision Cooker for it extra power and battery life, the Nano is arguably the best choice for home cooks who want to give a new method a try without spending too much money upfront.
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Renault is looking to revive flagging sales in China. It has agreed to set up a joint venture with a major auto manufacturer in the country. Renault will share tech and resources with Geely (which owns Volvo and Polestar) to bring Renault-branded hybrid vehicles to China.
The companies plan to take advantage of Geely's supply chain and manufacturing capabilities. Renault will focus on sales and marketing.
Along with China, the companies are eyeing South Korea as a key market for their joint venture. They plan to sell localized versions of hybrids from Geely's Lynk & Co brand.
The joint venture will likely expand to other Asian markets in the future, according to Reuters, which reported that Renault and Geely are considering making fully electric vehicles as well. Renault recently announced an ambitious timeline for electrifying its vehicles. It forecasts that 65 percent of its lineup will be electric by 2025.
Having a partnership in China seems important for Renault, which has struggled to sell cars under its own name in the country. It sold just 2,324 Renault-branded cars there in 2020, a drop of 89 percent from the previous year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the global semiconductor shortage. In comparison, Jinbei and Huasong, brands owned by a joint venture between Renault and Brilliance Auto, sold 154,049 vehicles in China last year.
Disney's Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser is going to cost you. For two guests in a standard cabin for a two-night adventure, you’ll have to set aside just shy of $5,000.
Disney is promising it as "part live immersive theater, part themed environment, part culinary extravaganza, part real-life role-playing game." The company offers more details on how your story might unfold, with the ability to choose to side with the First Order (boo), or ally with the resistance.
There will also be lightsaber lessons, optional missions and the chance to interact with iconic SW characters who will, well, behave like video game NPCs. According to reports, each Starcruiser adventure is several months of salary one-of-a-kind, so if you can afford one journey on the cruiser, you can probably book a second, different, adventure.
The posit sounds very Westworld, and like that fictional theme park, it seems unashamedly aimed at only the wealthiest Star Wars fans. It also sounds like there will be no Star Wars experience like it. Temptation, however, might be outweighed by economic reality. Then again, it seems positively cheap compared to a ticket to actual space.
Google’s first battery-powered Nest Cam and Doorbell can be installed just about anywhere around your home, and you can even connect them to a wired power source, if you prefer. The battery life depends on how many recorded events the devices detect and factors like the temperature and settings. Google says the Doorbell’s battery will run for up to six months on a single charge, while the Nest Cam can run for up to seven months before you need to recharge it over USB. Continue reading.
The Messages, Photos and Siri features will also come to watchOS and macOS.
Apple has detailed new features focused on child safety. With the release of iOS 15, watchOS 8 and macOS Monterey later this year, the company says it will introduce a variety of child safety features across Messages, Photos and Siri.
To start, the Messages app will include new notifications to warn children, as well as their parents, when they either send or receive sexually explicit photos. When someone sends a child an inappropriate image, the app will blur it and display several warnings. Apple will also introduce new software tools in iOS and iPadOS that will allow the company to detect when someone uploads content to iCloud that shows children involved in sexually explicit acts. Rather than scanning photos when they're uploaded to the cloud, the system will use an on-device database of "known" images. These features and more will come to devices later this year. Continue reading.
President Biden’s latest executive order sets a target for half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to have some form of zero-emissions driving, whether it's a pure EV, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The move is meant to not only promote clean transportation and limit climate change but help the US "outcompete" a Chinese car industry that's quickly shifting toward electrified vehicles. It could be an ambitious target: EVs have represented about 2 percent of US car sales for the past three years, according to the International Energy Agency and Pew Research. Continue reading.
The success of ‘Animal Crossing’ makes business as usual look worse by comparison.
In Nintendo’s latest financial report, it posted an operating profit of 119 billion yen, roughly $1.1 billion. That is, however, a 17.3 percent drop compared to the 144 billion yen ($1.3 billion) posted this time last year, when Switch consoles were consistently sold out and most of us were trapped indoors, isolating. Nintendo didn’t release a game that could match the success of Animal Crossing the year before. Amusingly, the company made a graph to show that, if you remove the Animal Crossing spike, its software sales have constantly increased since at least 2018. Continue reading.
Last year, Boss Team and Saber Interactive announced that Evil Dead: The Game with Bruce Campbell reprising his original movie role would arrive sometime in 2021. Now, the developers have tweeted out an update with a specific and slightly later release date: February 2022.
Evil Dead: The Game will be releasing in February 2022 Hey groovy gamers, we're targeting a new release date to give the team some extra time for polish and to ensure this is the ultimate Evil Dead experience you’re all waiting for! pic.twitter.com/c5I4OSQshA
The reason for the delay is to "give the team some extra time for polish and to ensure this is the ultimate Evil Dead experience you're all waiting for," the team tweeted. "This additional time is also allowing us to implement a single-player option that will let you enjoy the game when you are without your co-op compadres."
As we saw in the launch trailer in December, Campbell's Ash along with Kelly and crew have to work together to fight Deadites led by a powerful demon. You can think of it as a Dead by Daylight-style asymmetric title with a chainsaw hand and Bruce Campbell's clever catchphrases. It also comes with a big dollop of nostalgia with familiar characters, locales and plenty of gore in the form of blood-soaked zombies.
Evil Dead: The Game will offer "multiplayer co-op and PvP for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch," according to the developer's website. They advised that you stay tuned to their Twitter page "for more information about new character updates, pre-order availability, and the next gameplay video featuring Bruce Campbell."
While we await the inevitable delay of yet another big-budget game that was on the docket for this year, Sony revealed that several notable indies are coming to PlayStation consoles in the coming months. Among them is Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, which was announced for Nintendo Switch and PC in April. It's bound for PS4 and PS5. You'll once again have a radio that can pick up supernatural signals in the sequel to mystery adventure Oxenfree, which will arrive later this year.
In Carrion, you play as an amorphous monster who tries to escape from a research facility and devours anyone unfortunate to get in its way. The horror game picked up solid reviews when it was released on Switch, PC and Xbox One in 2020, and it was nominated at The Game Awards. Devolver will bring Carrion to PS4 later this year.
The ultra-charming exploration gameA Short Hike will also hit PS4 by the end of the year. The pixelated adventure, which is currently available on PC and Switch, is a real gem and it's well worth checking out.
Elsewhere during its indie showcase, Sony revealed more gameplay details for the long-awaited Axiom Verge 2 (arriving later this year) and showed off crafting adventure Wytchwood (coming to PS4 and PS5 this fall). The spotlight also landed on vertical-scrolling shoot-'em-up Sol Cresta, the latest entry in the classic Cresta shoot 'em up series, which first came to light as an April Fools' joke last year. It should hit PS4, Switch and PC this year.
And then there's the small matter of Hades, which is widely considered one of the very best games of 2020. As part of the showcase, Supergiant explained the origins of its hit dungeon crawler, which lands on PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on August 13th.
President Biden is throwing more of his weight behind electric cars. Biden is signing an Executive Order that sets a target for half of all new vehicles sold in 2030 to have some form of zero-emissions driving, whether it's a pure EV, plug-in hybrid or hydrogen fuel cell vehicle. The move is meant to not only promote clean transportation and limit climate change, but help the US "outcompete" a Chinese car industry that's quickly shifting toward electrified vehicles.
In sync with the order, the EPA and NHTSA will outline how they plan to undo the Trump administration's rollbacks of emissions and fuel efficiency standards. The two agencies will collaborate using standards built on the "momentum" from an agreement between California and automakers BMW, Ford, Honda, Volvo and VW. The EPA's proposed rules would take effect in the 2023 model year, while the NHTSA's would arrive in the 2024 model year. The team-up would have the standards mesh until model year 2026.
The Biden administration has rallied support from domestic brands for the effort. Ford, GM and Stellantis have declared a "shared aspiration" to meet the 2030 target and otherwise support Biden's vehicle electrification policies.
It's a significant goal. EVs have represented about 2 percent of US car sales for the past three years, according to the International Energy Agency and Pew Research. While the pandemic might have played a role in limiting 2020 sales, meeting the 2030 target would fundamentally transform the US car market, not to mention the charging infrastructure needed to support it.
However, it might drag behind some states, not to mention car makers. California and Massachusetts will ban all sales of new gas-based cars by 2035. GM also plans to exclusively sell EVs by that year, while Ford will go completely electric in Europe by 2030. Brands like Volvo and Stellantis' Fiat badge have also committed to full electrification by 2030. However ambitious the Biden plan might be, it could seem relatively modest in some respects.
If you’re a big Samsung fan, you’ve probably already marked your calendar for August 11th, when the company is holding its next Galaxy Unpacked event. Though it has held many events already in 2021, at least this time around it’s one that we’ve been anticipating. In recent years, Samsung has unveiled new Note phones every August. But at this coming Unpacked, the company will not be showing off a new Note. Thanks to the enterprising rumor mill and.. Samsung itself… We have a very good idea of what to expect on August 11th.
Foldables: The third generation
The company published a blog post this week in which its president TM Roh teased what’s to come. First up: Foldables. Yes, that’s plural. We’ll be seeing the third-generation of the Galaxy Z series, including the next Z Flip and Z Fold. If you’ll recall, the Z Flip is the smaller, Moto Razr-style phone that looks like a regular phone that you can close in half. Meanwhile, the Z Fold is more of a tablet-phone hybrid, where a 6.2-inch device opens up to reveal a 7.6-inch screen.
What might Samsung bring in new versions of these devices? Based on the leaks floatingaround the internet, the Z Flip 3 will possibly have a 1.9-inch outer screen, with a 6.7-inch internal flexible display. That external panel is significantly bigger than the 1.1-inch sliver on the older Z Flip, which could make it more useful when the device is shut. We’ve also seen reports that the inside screen will run at 120hz and sport dual 12-megapixel rear cameras and a 10-megapixel selfie shooter.
Chris Velazco / Engadget
Meanwhile, the Z Fold 3 is rumored to have a similar setup to the existing model, with a 6.2-inch exterior panel and a 7.6-inch version inside. It’ll probably have triple 12-megapixel cameras and two selfie cameras on either side. Both models are reported to be rated IPX8 for water resistance, though dust-resistance clearly still remains a challenge. These are all educated guesses based on what’s been leaked, so I’d take the details with a grain of salt.
What has been confirmed is that the foldables will support Samsung’s S Pen. The stylus has been a hallmark of the Note series and the company enabled support for it on its flagship S series earlier this year. In his blog post, Roh said the S Pen was specifically designed for its foldables.
A stylus made for the pliable screens on foldables has been a widely requested feature, and would make the larger, opened up displays more useful. Of course, Samsung shared little else about this S Pen besides the fact that it's coming, so there are plenty of unknowns at the moment. How will it avoid damaging the softer, flexible screen? What size is its nib, what is its pressure sensitivity and will the foldables have onboard slots to house it? Will it have Bluetooth support for remote control actions? Clearly, these are things we'll have to wait till Unpacked on August 11th to learn about.
Wearables: New headphones and Wear OS watches
Samsung also already spilled the beans on its upcoming Galaxy Watch running the new Wear OS that it co-engineered with Google. We’ve also seen plenty of leaked renders of the purported Galaxy Watch 4, which is likely to come in an Active and a Classic edition. The latter might be available in three sizes instead of just two, and appears to feature the popular rotating bezel Samsung’s watches are known for. Expect to see more details about the hardware and the UI at Unpacked, in addition to pricing and availability.
Cherlynn Low / Engadget
That’s not the only wearable that will make an appearance. We’ve also seen leaks indicating new Galaxy Buds 2 might show up at Unpacked. The company’s next wireless earbuds appear to have a more refined design and more color options. One report based on a beta version of an upcoming plugin on Samsung’s update server also indicated the possibility of active noise cancellation, touch controls and a simplified battery interface.
That’s pretty much all we know so far, though I wouldn’t put it past Samsung to have something else hidden up its sleeve for the event. Will Blackpink show up? I wish. But as for actual hardware, this is already a pretty long list of things to expect come August 11th. Samsung’s launch kicks off at 10am Eastern that day, and you should come watch it with us on Engadget’s YouTube channel. We’ll be starting at 9:40AM Eastern with a pre-show and hanging around after Samsung wraps to answer your burning questions. I hope to see you then!
Samsung is releasing the 12.4-inch Galaxy Tab S7 FE 5G, a cheaper sibling to its flagship Galaxy Tab S7 Plus, on Thursday, August 5th. The "FE" stands for "Fan Edition," a term that was also used with the Galaxy S20 FE smartphone, and is essentially a roundabout way of saying this is a less flashy alternative.
In terms of specs, that boils down to a less powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G chipset, compared to the S7/S7 Plus' 865+ processor. Here, you get an LCD instead of the Plus' AMOLED display with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution versus 1,752 x 2,800 pixels. Samsung hasn't mentioned if the refresh rate will match the 120Hz on the S7 range.
Samsung
Another area where it falls short is the camera: 8MP on the back and a 5-megapixel one for selfies. Comparatively, the S7/S7 Plus feature a dual camera setup, with a main 13-megapixel camera accompanied by an ultra wide 5-megapixel offering, with a front 8-megapixel snapper. The FE also poaches the S7 Plus' 10,090 mAh battery and supports quick charging. Its metal unibody design should still feel as lavish.
Samsung
Prices for the 5G tablet start from $669, which gets you the base model in black with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage (expandable to 1TB with an SD card). Samsung previously said the slate would also offer a 6GB/128GB configuration, though that is likely to cost more. The FE 5G will initially be available at Samsung.com, AT&T and Verizon, and will arrive at T-Mobile, UScellular and other retailers in the coming days.
A $530 WiFi model is also available to pre-order today, ahead of a September release date, in three extra colors including pink, green and silver. Both tablets come with an S-Pen stylus out of the box.
That really leaves you to decide whether you want the FE or last year's Tab S7 ($650/$850) or Tab S7 Plus ($850/$1,050). Of course, if you're after something even cheaper, you can always settle for the $159 Tab A7 Lite.
WhatsApp is adding disappearing photo messages to its app. Called “view once” photos, the new feature allows users to send photos and videos in chats that can only be viewed a single time before disappearing.
The Snapchat-like feature is similar to Instagram and Messenger’s disappearing photo features. When snapping a picture in WhatsApp, users can select the timer icon to set the photo to “view once.” Unlike regular photo or video messages, the “view once” images won’t preview in the chat and can’t be downloaded to your device.
Facebook is billing the feature as one for “private moments” or for sending potentially sensitive information like Wi-Fi passwords. As always, people should be wary of just how “private” these kinds of messages really are. In a help article, the company notes that the recipient can still take a screenshot or record their screen while opening a “view once” photo and, unlike Snapchat, WhatsApp won’t let the sender know when a screenshot has been taken. The company also points out that “view once” photos that are reported will be made visible to WhatsApp.
Sony is adding Nier: Automata, Ghostrunner and Undertale to its PlayStation Now service, the company announced on Monday. Subscribers can play all three games starting on August 3rd, with Nier: Automata only available on the service until November 1st, 2021. While none of the titles Sony is adding tomorrow are exactly new or, for that matter, exclusive to PlayStation Now, they’re smart additions to the platform’s library all the same. Nier and Undertale are particularly well-regarded and just niche enough that not everyone has gone out of their way to play them.
As Sony looks for ways to counter Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation Now subscribers can look forward to more high-profile games making their way to the platform. Back in May, the company said it was working on “strengthening” the service by investing in and partnering with external studios.
