Valve just dropped a Steam Client Beta update that finally introduces a sought-after feature. The Steam Remote Play service will now offer 4K support, providing a series of presets to allow gamers to find the perfect high-res settings for preferred titles. Prior to this update, 4K was still possible when playing remotely, but it required plenty of experimentation with settings and didn’t always work right. This should fix many of those issues.

This move lets gamers finally make use out of high-end peripherals, like 4K monitors, when engaging with remote streaming play. For the uninitiated, Steam Remote Play is a useful service that streams PC games from your Steam library to phones, tablets, laptops and related devices. Its sibling service, Steam Remote Play Together, adds online multiplayer to the mix, actually allowing players who don’t even own the game to join in competitive or co-op play.

4K streaming isn’t the only new feature included in this update, though it’s certainly the most notable. Valve also now allows users to resize the settings window and it has made the back button more reliable when making minute adjustments, like fiddling with 4K streams. The company also fixed a whole bunch of bugs, like folders not being re-created when verifying game installations and overlays freezing when file dialogs are displayed.

Finally, Big Picture Mode received some minor bug fixes and Steam added support for the Indonesian language. The update is available for download now, but this is a beta so you may want to wait until an official final release.

Amazon is tightening the purse strings again, raising prices for Music Unlimited subscriptions. This latest increase impacts Prime members and family plan users, as originally spotted by The Hollywood Reporter. The Amazon Music Unlimited Individual Plan for Prime members is going up from $9 to $10 per month, or $89 to $99 per year. The Amazon Music Unlimited Family Plan is shooting up from $16 to $17 per month, or $159 to $169 per year.

These rates begin immediately for new subscribers, but pre-existing customers have a grace period until September 19 before they kick in. As for the why, Amazon magnanimously stated that the price hikes will help bring “even more content and features.” Aw, shucks. You shouldn’t have.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Amazon has raised Music Unlimited prices this year. Back in January, the costs went up for students and non-Prime subscribers, and last year Prime members got yet another increase. So, basically Prime members saw prices jettison from $8 per month to $10 per month in just over a year. That’s a lot of new content and features.

Amazon isn’t the only streamer taking extra dips into our bank accounts. Just about every known streaming service has been raising prices this past year. YouTube Premium went up form $12 to $14 per month, Tidal got an increase, Apple Music and Apple TV+ experienced price hikes, Spotify shot up from $10 to $11 per month and that’s just the beginning. Other streaming services like Peacock, Paramount+, Hulu and Max all raised their prices, likely to add those new content and features everyone’s been talking about.

In related news, Amazon Music Unlimited pays artists around $5,000 per million streams, which is in line with Apple Music and Spotify. In a perfect world, some of that price hike money would go to the people that actually make the stuff that populate these platforms. This is not a perfect world.

Netflix is getting the band back together with Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, an anime adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series. The company has dropped the first teaser for the eight-episode show, which centers around the titular character and his attempt to win a battle of the bands contest while facing off against the seven evil exes of his new girlfriend.

The anime follows on from Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, a 2010 film based on the graphic novels. The main cast of Edgar Wright's movie are reprising their roles in the series, including Michael Cera (Scott Pilgrim), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Ramona Flowers), Kieran Culkin (Wallace Wells), Chris Evans (Lucas Lee) and Brie Larson (“Envy” Adams).

The teaser apes many of the visuals of the movie and graphic novels, such as Scott blocking a flying attack from Matthew Patel with his arm and the rehearsal space of his band, Sex Bob-Omb. You'll also see Ramona dragging Scott through space toward a door with a star on it and the lovebirds sitting next to each other on a swing set. I don't remember seeing any dinosaurs in the film, though.

Bryan Lee O’Malley, the creator of the graphic novel series, is one of the showrunners, while Wright is an executive producer. Abel Gongora of animation studio Science Saru (Star Wars: Visions, Devilman Crybaby) is the director of the show. Scott Pilgrim Takes Off also includes new music from Anamanaguchi, the terrific chiptune band behind the soundtrack of the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World video game.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is my favorite movie of the 2010s, and this teaser gets the look and the spirit of the universe spot on. I'm already counting down the days until Scott Pilgrim Takes Off hits Netflix on November 17th.

Google Photos just got a major update that adds generative AI to its popular Memories view. This toolset already creates scrapbook montages using your photos and videos, but now these montages will be even more personalized, with collections that make sense according to your life. AI-enhanced algorithms will collect the images into relevant categories, a recent vacation as an example, and create a catchy title to accompany the montage. The app already does this, more or less, but the update should be something of a radical improvement. Of course, this is AI so it won’t always get things right. In other words, you can rename collections or edit montages if necessary. 

All of these scrapbook montages are now collected in a dedicated view, called Memories, so you only interact with them when you want to. Before this, Google Photos users received a push notification every time a new scrapbook was available for perusal. Just click on the Memories tab and get going. The new tab also provides access to previously-released features, like adding music to scrapbook montages and sharing memories via the app.

The update even allows these scrapbook entries to be co-created by friends and family. Invite anyone to collaborate and they can contribute their own photos and videos. Everyone involved can delete any photos that don’t match the theme or make simple edits, and the system itself will recommend photos based on geotagging and the like. As for more robust sharing options, Google says you’ll soon be able to save these collections as popular video formats to send via messaging and social media apps.

The new Google Photos update begins rolling out today in the United States, but the company says it’ll be a few months before a true global launch. This isn’t the first time this year the company has squeezed generative AI into Google Photos. Back in May, Google used the technology to improve its Magic Editor toolset, which leverages AI to remove unwanted artifacts from photos.

In the last few years, basically every platform of consequence has made its own take on TikTok's signature scrolling feed of vertical videos. YouTube Music is the latest. Today, the app will get a vertical video feed called Samples that YouTube describes as a one-tap way to quickly sample and find new music. 

Samples lives in a new tab at the bottom of the app, alongside the home feed, your library and the explore section. Tapping Samples automatically starts a short vertical video clip of a song that YouTube Music thinks you'll like. Naturally, it's pulling songs based on your taste profile, with an emphasis on artists that you like, and related ones who you might not have heard before. 

The app already has multiple playlists that are tuned to your listening habits, including a Supermix that pulls songs and artists together across all your listening habits. There's also a Discover playlist that, naturally, focuses on things you're not familiar with but might enjoy based on your history. YouTube Music product manager Gregor Dodson told Engadget that the algorithm for the Samples feed is a little different from both of those — it's trying to site in between the two playlists, highlighting artists that you may be familiar with but pulling clips you haven't watched before.

The clips you'll see in Samples are only 30 seconds long, but that's about enough to give you a sense of the song. If it's not what you're looking for, just swipe up and you'll jump to another song, and you can do this as much as you want. Spotify added its own vertical video feed recently, but that's less for discovery and more to offer a way to quickly scroll through previews of songs in its playlists. But with both Spotify and YouTube Music implementing such a new, it seems likely that we'll see more apps do the same soon.

I got to try Samples for a few days before it launched, and the thing I found most interesting was to use it as a jumping off point for a longer listening session, something Dodson confirmed was by design. "Short form video [and] the infinite scroll have really interesting applications in music discovery," he said. "It's a simple way to discover new music, but it's not the end of the journey — it's just the start of finding a new artist or song." 

YouTube

To that end, the Samples video view is overlaid with a number of controls. From any Sample, you can tap the thumbs-up to save the song to your "liked songs" playlist. You can also save the song to any playlist you've created. Between these two options, it's pretty easy to quickly scan through Samples and save a bunch of songs to check out further. And if you hear something you want to immediately play in full, just tap the big old play button in the corner of the screen.

Since this is YouTube we're talking about, there's also a "Shorts" button that pops you into the main YouTube app. It'll show you other Shorts clips created with the audio you picked and let you jump into making your own clip with the song. Finally, the share button does just what you'd think — you get a link that can drop into a host of other apps like Messages, Reddit, Facebook and whatever else you might have installed. 

In the overflow menu, you can find a lot of other options, like starting a continuous radio station from the song, jumping into the artist's page to find more music, saving the track to your library and so forth. I with the "start radio" button was featured more prominently in the Samples video, because I found that to be a great way to jump into a auto-generated set of tunes with the same vibe as the Sample that initially caught my eye (and ear). 

My main issue with Samples is one of UI. Specifically, it's not always clear where exactly you'll end up in the app when you switch views. Tapping the Samples tab starts the video scroll, and to exit it you can tap one of the other bottom navigation tabs; tapping the "play" button opens up the familiar YouTube Music player controls. Finally, swiping back down to hide the player interface returns you to Samples. Seems pretty clear. But at one point, I had hit the play button to hear a song and then rotated my phone to landscape to see the video in full screen. When the next song started, I rotated my phone back to landscape, and the app threw me immediately back into the Samples view, with the clip of the song I had already heard still playing.

Another time, I started playing a song, and the hit the toggle at the top of the Now Playing screen to switch the video off and just hear the song. I listened to a few more songs from the auto-generated station of similar music, and then swiped down to hide the Now Playing UI and browse around the app. I was again tossed back into the Samples view. That does make some logical sense, as that's where the whole listening experience started. But I'm to used to being able to hide the Now Playing screen and browse around the app while still playing music that it was a bit jarring. That said, I could then hit the "Home" tab at the bottom and resume what I was playing. It works, but the addition of Samples does change a few of the app's expected behaviors.

These quibbles aside, Samples seems like a pretty handy addition to the YouTube Music app. In the few days I had to test it, it consistently served up music from artists I liked, and the song selections were indeed things I was usually less familiar with. The video clip aspect of it doesn't really matter to me, but given how many artists are making excellent videos these days, it's fun to remember that these visuals are worth checking out sometimes. (Thanks, YouTube Music, for surfacing the wild video for "I Know the End" by Phoebe Bridgers.) More importantly, it did work well as a jumping-off point for digging into some artists I had forgotten about or finding a tune to set the mood for a playlist or station.

YouTube says that the Samples feature is rolling out globally starting today for both Android and iOS users. As with most new features, it might not hit your app immediately, so you might need to be a little patient.

Telegram launched its Stories feature to everyone today, following its availability to Premium users starting last month. Like Facebook Messenger’s Stories, they appear as expandable bubbles above your conversation. However, Telegram’s take is more customizable, providing granular control of who sees uploaded posts and for how long. “Now when you meet people on Telegram, you’ll see exciting snapshots of their life — not just a few profile photos,” the company wrote in a blog post today.

Launching alongside the messaging service’s 10th birthday, Telegram describes Stories as “by far the most-requested feature” in the company’s decade-long history. Its privacy controls include visibility options for everyone, all contacts, selected contacts or close friends.

Telegram

Telegram’s Stories also let you hide your posts from contacts you don’t want to see, and Premium users can choose between six, 12, 24 and 48 hours of visibility for new posts. In addition, post creators can see a list of the Telegram users who viewed their content. It also supports a BeReal-like dual-camera mode, letting you simultaneously share photos or videos captured by your phone’s front and rear sensors. The feature also includes reactions, so viewers can add a heart or choose from “hundreds” of other responses to posts.

Some of Stories’ more advanced controls are reserved for Premium subscribers ($5 per month). Perhaps most significant, paying users’ posts display first, giving them more exposure. Subscribers can also view others’ stories in stealth mode, hiding all traces of their visit from the author. Additionally, subscribers get the previously mentioned custom expiration options, a permanent view history (see who viewed your posts even after they expire), the ability to save Stories to the gallery, “10 times longer” captions and a higher allotment of daily Stories (up to 100).

Telegram Stories is scheduled to roll out to the service’s iOS and Android apps today.

The Internet Archive is facing another lawsuit over one of its conservation projects. Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and a handful of other music labels have filed a lawsuit against the nonprofit organization, accusing it of copyright infringement for digitizing, "willfully upload[ing], distribut[ing] and digitally transmitt[ing]" pre-1972 sound recordings. In particular, the labels are suing Internet Archive for the Great 78 Project, which seeks to preserve music recorded on 78rpm discs. 

The labels call Internet Archive's efforts "blatant infringement," involving music by artists that include Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Miles Davis and Louis Armstrong. They also listed a few examples of "iconic recordings" available through the Great 78 Project, such as White Christmas, Sing, Sing, Sing, and The Christmas Song. 

The companies said the the songs preserved on the project website are already available through streaming and other music services, so they "face no danger of being lost, forgotten, or destroyed." But the organization explained on the project portal that there's "still research value in the artifacts and usage evidence in the often rare 78rpm discs and recordings." 

The plaintiffs disagree, writing in their complaint that Internet Archive's activities "far exceed" the limited purposes of preservation and research. "Internet Archive unabashedly seeks to provide free and unlimited access to music for everyone, regardless of copyright," they added. The labels are asking statutory damages of up to $150,000 for each protected sound recording, and that could add up to $372 million for the listed recordings, according to Bloomberg.

Internet Archive is also embroiled in a legal battle with a group of US publishers led by Hachette Book Group over the National Emergency Library. The organization lent out digitally scanned copies of books through the program during the height of the pandemic, which the publishers described as "willful mass copyright infringement." A federal judge ruled against Internet Archive for that particular case, though the organization is planning to appeal that decision.

Instagram now lets you add music to photo carousels. Unveiled in partnership with pop star Olivia Rodrigo to promote her single “bad idea right?”, the feature allows you to pick licensed music to soundtrack your slideshows. In addition, the company announced that you can create Collabs with up to three co-authors and post audience-response prompts to Reels.

The carousel soundtracking feature adds a missing piece already found in TikTok’s Photo Mode, launched last year. “Whether you’re sharing a collection of summer memories with friends or moments from your camera roll, you can now add music to your photo carousels,” Instagram wrote in a blog post today. “Building off our launch of music for feed photos, anyone can add a song to capture the mood and bring their carousel to life.”

Also announced today, Instagram Collabs adds the ability to invite up to three friends (up from one) to help co-author feed posts, carousels or reels. The platform says each contributor’s audience will see the content (perhaps hinting that it could be a handy way for influencers to benefit from each other’s followings) and will feature on each account’s profile grid. In addition, the company says private profiles can still start posts / reels and invite collaborators as long as they follow the private account.

Instagram

Instagram also updated how the Add Yours sticker works. When a creator adds the new Add Yours prompt to a Reel and followers contribute content as a response, the creator can now highlight their favorite posted replies for all their followers to see. “With the Add Yours sticker, a creator or artist can invite their followers to join in on a fun prompt or challenge they create on Reels, and then hand-pick their favorite submissions to celebrate their fans’ creativity.” It essentially sounds like a way to use the human social desire to connect with high-status figures (especially celebrities like Rodrigo) to build engagement for creators and the platform as a whole.

Finally, Instagram noted that it’s bringing its music library “to more countries over the coming weeks,” although it hasn’t yet announced specific nations or dates. However, it did mention that Instagram is partnering with Spotify in Mexico and Brazil to showcase 50 of the most popular songs on Instagram Reels on the music platform’s Reels Music Chart.

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, a mobile game that expands the FFVII story and universe, will be available on iOS and Android on September 7th. Square Enix first announced the mobile game along with the battle royale action title Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier back in 2021. It was supposed to come out in 2022, but delays pushed back its release, and the company didn't start closed beta testing for the game until July this year. 

Ever Crisis was developed by Applibot, though Final Fantasy veterans Kazushige Nojima, Yoshinori Kitase and Tetsuya Nomura were involved as scenario writer, executive producer and creative director, respectively. It features an art style reminiscent of the the original FFVII's chibi characters, but with a twist — as The Verge notes, Cloud has actual hands in this version. 

The game retells the events from the original game, so players can relive some of its most iconic moments, though it also includes the The First Soldier's backstory and stories about the characters from when they were younger. As for its gameplay, it's based on the original's Active Time Battle system that's been optimized for mobile. 

Ever Crisis will be free-to-play, but according to Android Police's review of the closed beta version, players will have to spend money playing "gacha" to get weapons and other items. Fans who want to play the game regardless and as soon as it becomes available can now pre-register for either or both mobile platforms. 

Activision is doing something different with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, this year's entry in the blockbuster military shooter series. Rather than starting from scratch and having to rebuild your collection of weapons and cosmetic items, Activision is letting players carry over nearly everything they unlock in Modern Warfare II.

This so-called Carry Forward initiative also applies to Call of Duty: Warzone, given that content is shared between the mainline games and the free-to-play battle royale. Warzone Mobile, which is slated to arrive later this year, will be integrated into all of this too.

For the most part, your unlocked operators, operator skins, bundles, all weapons, attachments and other rewards and cosmetic items will move forward from MW2 to MW3. What's more, if you continue to level up guns in MW2, that progress will be reflected in MW3.

This is a one-way street, though. Any MW3 progress or unlocks won't be replicated in MW2. There's no Carry Back feature.

The main things that won't progress from the 2022 game to this year's one are cosmetics for vehicles that aren't present in MW3. War Tracks, which are songs that can be played in vehicles, won't move over either. "Some Tactical and Lethal equipment may not be available depending on the removing of those items in MW3, to be replaced with MW3-only equipment," Activision noted in an extensive FAQ.

Even though MW2 and MW3 are handled by different internal studios (Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games, respectively), you won't have to jump through any hoops to transfer your weapons and cosmetics either. Activision will handle everything, though of course you'll need to be using the same account or profile for both games.

Activision will release Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III on November 10th. We'll learn much more about the upcoming game at a reveal event, which is set for August 17th.

Meanwhile, following the game's latest trailer, fans are speculating that MW3 will include an updated take on the hugely controversial No Russian mission from the original Modern Warfare II, which came out in 2009. That level wasn't in last year's rebooted version of MW2.