Uber has launched public robotaxi rides in Las Vegas using Motional's Hyundai Ioniq 5 autonomous EVs with the aim of offering a full driverless service to the public in 2023. It will eventually expand to Los Angeles, where the two companies have been testing autonomous Uber Eats deliveries since May 2022. It's all part of a 10-year agreement between Uber and Motional to offer autonomous ride-hailing and deliveries. 

The taxi rides will be monitored by safety drivers, with the goal of launching a fully driverless service to the public in 2023. "Today, Motional becomes the first AV company to conduct all-electric autonomous rides on the Uber network for public passengers," said Motional VP Akshay Jaising. (Uber offered "autonomous" taxi rides using its own self-driving tech back in 2016, but riders were accompanied by engineers ready to take the wheel.) 

Lyft also partners with Motional, a joint venture between Hyundai and Aptiv. It beat Uber to the punch by launching Motional rides in Las Vegas in August this year with safety drivers on board. Lyft has also said it will ditch those drivers and offer true autonomous service by next year. 

Don't be surprised if that timeline changes, though. Apart from Motional, only Alphabet division Waymo and GM's Cruise are offering true driverless services at a reasonably large scale. The Waymo One service is operating in Phoenix and San Francisco, while Cruise rides are currently limited to San Francisco. Both operate only in specific areas of cities (which can be mapped out in great detail) and some vehicles still use safety riders.

Uber co-founder Travis Kalanick once said that the his company had to be "tied for first, at least" in the race to offer true driverless rides. Since both Uber and Lyft rely on Motional for self-driving tech, that's exactly what might happen.

In late November, San Francisco's Board of Supervisors has approved a proposal that would allow the city's police force to use remote-controlled robots as a deadly force option when faced with violent or armed suspects. The supervisors voted 8-to-3 in favor of making it a new policy despite opposition by civil rights groups, but now they seem to have had a change of heart. During the second of two required votes before a policy can be sent to the mayor's office for final approval, the board voted 8-to-3 to explicitly ban the use of lethal force by police robots. As San Francisco Chronicle notes, this about-face is pretty unusual, as the board's second votes are typically just formalities that echo the first ones' results.

The San Francisco Police Department made the proposal after a law came into effect requiring California officials to define the authorized uses of their military-grade equipment. It would have allowed cops to equip robots with explosives "to contact, incapacitate, or disorient violent, armed, or dangerous suspects." Authorities could only use the robots for lethal force after they've exhausted all other possibilities, and a high-ranking official would have to approve their deployment. However, critics are concerned that the machines could be abused. 

Dean Preston, one of the supervisors who oppose the use of robots as a deadly force option, said the policy will "place Black and brown people in disproportionate danger of harm or death." In a newer statement made after the board's second vote, Preston said: "There have been more killings at the hands of police than any other year on record nationwide. We should be working on ways to decrease the use of force by local law enforcement, not giving them new tools to kill people."

While the supervisors voted to ban the use of lethal force by police robots — for now, anyway — they also sent the original policy proposing the use of killer robots back for review. The board's Rules Committee could now amend it further to have stricter rules for use of bomb-equipped robots, or it could scrap the old proposal altogether.

Microsoft vows to bring Call of Duty to Nintendo and to continue making it available on the latter's consoles for 10 years if its Activision Blizzard acquisition pushes through. Phil Spencer, Microsoft Gaming's CEO, has announced the company's commitment on Twitter, adding that "Microsoft is committed to helping bring more games to more people — however they choose to play." Spencer previously said during an interview that the company intends to treat Call of Duty like Minecraft that's available across platforms and that he would "love to see [the game]" on the Switch. A 10-year commitment potentially means that the franchise will also be released for the current Switch's successors. 

In addition, Spencer has announced on Twitter that Microsoft will continue to offer CoD on Steam, alongside the Xbox, after the deal is closed. As The New York Times says, this announcement could be a move to appease the Federal Trade Commission and to get regulators on their side. The publication says the FTC is expected to discuss the acquisition in a closed-door meeting on Thursday, where the agency will decide whether to take steps to block the deal. 

A recent report by Politico claimed that Microsoft failed to convince the FTC staff reviewing the acquisition with its arguments and that the commission will likely file an antitrust lawsuit to block it as soon as this month. The FTC is reportedly concerned the purchase would give Microsoft an unfair advantage and that it would reduce competition in the market. 

In an opinion piece written for The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft President Brad Smith defended the acquisition and argued that it's good for gamers. FTC suing to block the deal "would be a huge mistake," he said, and would hurt competition in the industry instead. Smith also said that Microsoft offered Sony, the loudest dissenting voice to the merger, a 10-year contract ensuring all new CoD releases would be available on the PlayStation the same day they go out for the Xbox. "We're open to providing the same commitment to other platforms and making it legally enforceable by regulators in the US, UK and European Union," he wrote. Whether these efforts are enough to assure regulators that the purchase wouldn't be detrimental to the industry remains to be seen. 

When Dead Island 2 remerged earlier this year after a lengthy absence, publisher Deep Silver announced it would be the first title to support Amazon’s Alexa Game Control, a feature that allows you to use your voice to play a game. On Tuesday, the company shared a trailer showcasing the functionality, albeit one that offers a staged view of things.

The trailer opens with a group of zombie apocalypse survivors finding a playable build of Dead Island 2. “What a weird coincidence,” says one of the characters, commenting on the meta-narrative. “What’s Alexa Game Control?” asks the leader of the group. As one of their friends goes outside for a smoke, the video shows how certain voice commands will trigger actions within the game. “Hey zombie,” for example, draws the attention of the nearest undead. You can also say, “get me my ax” to cause your character to, well, switch to their ax.

Not every voice command that’s in the game is shown off in the trailer. An Amazon spokesperson told The Verge you’ll be able to use your voice to do things like set waypoints and greet other characters. Alexa Voice Control doesn’t require an Echo device. All you need is a headset with a microphone. We’ll get a chance to see how well the voice commands work when Dead Island 2, after nearly a decade of development, finally arrives on April 28th.

You didn't have to wait long for confirmation of Apple's domestic chip plans. Company chief Tim Cook has revealed that Apple will buy chips made at TSMC's upcoming factory in Phoenix, Arizona. While Cook didn't say just how those chips will be used, the 4- and 3-nanometer parts are expected to find their way into next-generation iPhones, Macs and other key products. Apple is currently TSMC's largest customer.

The Phoenix facility is expected to start production in 2024. A follow-up plant is expected in 2026 due to increased demand. Combined, they'll make about 600,000 chip wafers per year. TSMC is spending $40 billion on the factories, but they'll be partly subsidized by the government through the CHIPS and Science Act meant to incentivize US semiconductor manufacturing.

Intel is also building factories in Arizona and Ohio. It's planning to serve as a foundry for other companies looking to outsource chip production, and has expressed interest in making Apple's components. Whether or not that happens may depend on Intel's ability to keep up with foundries like TSMC, which frequently leads the push towards next-generation chip manufacturing processes.

The output will represent just a tiny portion of TSMC's total capabilities. CNBC notes the Taiwan firm made 12 million wafers in 2020 alone. The National Economic Council estimates that should be enough to fulfill US demand, though. That could alleviate chip shortages, create jobs and reduce American dependence on foreign production.

While the plants won't come online for two years, news of the expansion comes at an appropriate time. Apple has warned of iPhone 14 Pro manufacturing setbacks due to China's COVID-19 policies. In theory, American facilities would have reduced the impact of those restrictions. Although many parts could still be made overseas even after TSMC's expansion, there could soon be a greater chance of Apple devices reaching your door in a timely fashion.

Apple is expanding developers’ options for pricing their App Store apps. The company announced 700 new price points and tools today in what it describes as the App Store's biggest pricing upgrade in its 14-year history. Additionally, devs can now set regional costs automatically in response to exchange rates.

The App Store’s new structure lets developers choose from 900 price points for their apps, nearly 10 times what was previously available. Pricing now starts at $0.29 and can go as high as $10,000 upon request. (If you’re old enough to remember the I Am Rich app, you can imagine that developer salivating over this higher cap.) Additionally, app prices can now go up incrementally across different ranges. For example, they can now increase every $0.10 up to $10, every $0.50 between $10 and $50 and so on.

Apple is also adding different pricing conventions for all 175 regional storefronts. Deves can now use two repeating digits (like ₩110,000) and rounded dollar amounts ($10.00 instead of $9.99).

The update also makes it easier for devs to deal with global exchange rates. Apple uses the example of a Japanese game developer who gets most of their business from Japanese customers. Now they can set their price for the Japan storefront and see global pricing change automatically based on exchange and tax rates. Previously, developers had to do that manually.

Apple says the new pricing structure is available today for apps offering auto-renewable subscriptions. They will arrive for all other apps and in-app purchases in the spring of 2023.

Polestar is delivering a not-so-subtle snub to Mercedes' subscription performance upgrade. The automaker has released an update that gives the Polestar 2's long range dual motor variant a 68HP power boost (plus 15lb. ft. of torque) in the US and Canada for a one-time $1,195 fee. That's far from a trivial expense, but it's a decidedly better value than Merc's $1,200 annual fee for EQS and EQE acceleration improvements.

The software tuning gives the Polestar 2 a total 476HP with 502lb. ft. of torque. That's enough to cut the 0-60MPH time to 4.2 seconds (normally 4.5), and it shaves half a second off the 50-70MPH dash (now 2.2 seconds). Polestar says you'll mainly notice the added grunt in the 44MPH to 80MPH range, so this update may be most helpful when you're overtaking someone on the highway.

You can buy the update through the Polestar web shop, and it will apply over the air. It's included with a new vehicle if you opt for the $5,000 Performance pack. You won't have to visit a store, then. There's no word of a comparable upgrade for the single motor Polestar 2 variant, or availability in other regions.

The patch won't suddenly give the Polestar 2 an edge over the Model 3 Performance (0-60 in 3.3 seconds) or other particularly quick EVs. And while this is a one-off purchase, you're still paying for something your car could technically handle before — it just wasn't available when the sedan was new. You're ultimately compensating Polestar for development time, not components, and this won't be thrilling if you preferred the days when paid upgrades were directly connected to better hardware.

This does make the Polestar 2 easier to justify if you crave speed, though. And importantly, you won't have to buy the extremely rare BST edition 270 just to get additional output. While you won't get as many track-ready features, you also won't have to receive an invitation (or, more likely, buy a used model at a premium) to get behind the wheel.

A little over a month after it arrived on Xbox consoles, the addictive roguelike shoot ‘em up Vampire Survivors will get its first DLC. The $2 Legacy of Moonspell expansion launches on PC via Steam and Xbox on December 15th.

The new content includes a new map that developer poncle describes as the game’s “biggest stage yet.” The new level, Mt. Moonspell, adds an abandoned castle, a snow-covered mountain and a Yokai-infested village. Additionally, the DLC adds over a dozen new weapons, including an ancestral wind force, orbs that unleash the power of seasons, a dark summoning weapon and an enchanted kimono. It also adds eight extra playable characters and six music tracks.

“In eastern lands, a clan has fallen,” the DLC’s story description reads. “The Moonspell, once vigilant guardians of a sorcerous valley nestled in the mountains, have been overrun by hordes of yokai and oni. Though treacherous, this hive of spectral activity may provide some clue as to the location of a vampire. If not, at least it’ll be entertaining to defeat thousands of wayward spirits in the process.”

Luca Galante

Vampire Survivors is a casual game that, over time, reveals more complexity than you’d expect from its simple 2D character sprites. Your character auto-fires weapons, leaving you to control their movement and loadout while dodging fire and snagging enemy drops. The goal is to stay ahead of the curve: As wave after wave of enemies approach, it may remind you as much of tower defense as the roguelike games from which it draws inspiration. Once you get the hang of it, it can become an almost meditative experience, which helps explain its standing as the most-played Steam Deck game month after month.

The base Vampire Survivors game is available for $5 on Steam and Xbox Series X/S; it's also available via Game Pass for PCs and consoles.

Apple isn't done scaling back its plans for an electric car, apparently. Bloombergsources say the EV, codenamed Project Titan, is no longer a fully self-driving machine. It will reportedly have a conventional wheel and pedals, and will 'only' drive itself on highways. The company has also pushed the launch back by a year to 2026, the tipsters claim.

The rumored vehicle will supposedly offer enough autonomy that you can play games or watch video on the highway, but ask you to take control when it's time to drive on city streets or through adverse weather. Apple may debut the hands-free tech in North America at first and expand access "over time," the insiders add.

Apple has already declined comment. Titan has been in development for years, and has suffered numerous setbacks as well as major strategy shifts. The tech firm may have had doubts as early as 2015, and was said to have scuttled the vehicle in 2016 in favor of a licensed self-driving platform. Executive shuffles and layoffs didn't help, either. While the company did return to making a full-fledged vehicle, according to rumors, it had little success courting production help from brands like Hyundai.

More modest ambitions wouldn't be surprising. Full Level 5 autonomy (where a vehicle can drive itself in any circumstance) still isn't a practical reality, and even Waymo's robotaxis are only allowed to operate in good weather in California. There's also the question of legal permissions. While states are increasingly receptive to self-driving cars, there isn't yet a framework that would let the general public use completely autonomous vehicles. Even if Apple solved all the technical challenges, it couldn't realistically sell a truly hands-off car any time soon.

A switch to a semi-autonomous design could lead to fiercer competition. While Tesla has long been considered Apple's main rival, the EV market has grown rapidly in recent years. Brands like Ford, Hyundai, Volkswagen and Rivian have all made capable electric rides. Apple would be entering a crowded field, and there's no guarantee the company will stand out.

The European Commission and Amazon have reportedly come to an agreement that will allow the retail giant to avoid a fine for allegedly misusing seller data. According to The Financial Times, the company has pledged to give rival products equal treatment in the Buy Box section of its website, a move that should theoretically increase the visibility of the merchants selling those goods. Amazon also agreed to create alternate featured offers for customers less concerned about getting their purchase as quickly as possible, as well as give sellers free rein to decide on the company they want to deliver their goods.

According to The Times, the European Commission plans to announce the agreement on December 20th, though that date could shift. What won’t change are the terms of the deal. “There’s very little to discuss,” a source told the outlet. Once the agreement is formalized, Amazon will be required to honor its commitments for at least five years.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Engadget’s comment request. In July, when the company promised it would take steps to make its seller program fairer, Amazon said it felt it was being “unfairly” targeted by legislation like the Digital Markets Act. At the same time, the retailer said it was "engaged constructively" with regulators to address concerns about its business.

A deal with the European Union would give Amazon the chance to put to rest at least one aspect of a long saga. The European Commission began probing the company’s use of merchant data in 2019, almost a full year before The Wall Street Journalpublished a report alleging that Amazon had used seller data to design competing products. However, the company would still need to mollify US lawmakers and regulators. In April, the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly began investigating the company’s use of third-party data. Before that, the Senate asked the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Amazon over the possibility of criminal obstruction.