Leica has just unveiled its first ultra-short-throw (UST) projector called the Cine 1 that can beam an 80- or 100-inch image while parked as little as six inches from a wall. While it might seem a bit strange for a camera company to build a projector, UST models require precise optics to create a square image while beaming straight up — and that's right up Leica's alley. 

The company said it's using its Summicron lens tech with aspherical elements "manufactured in accordance with Leica standards. It also uses a triple-RGB laser with a 25,000 hour service life (built in collaboration with HiSense, according to The Verge) and a Texas Instruments DLP chip. 

Leica has two versions of the Cine 1 designed for 80-inch and 100-inch screens, with the former positioned about six inches from the wall and the latter about 12 inches. Leica recommends setting them at exactly those positions and using the suggested screen sizes, as the optics were designed for that. To that end, it's also selling 80- and 100-inch ambient light-rejecting (ALR) screens. They output 2,100 and 2,500 lumens for the 80- and 100-inch models, respectively.

On the audio side, it offers built-in Dolby Atmos-powered speakers for surround sound. It comes with a TV tuner for for linear TV and HiSense's VIDAA OS as a smart TV platform. You can also install external storage, Blu-ray players or consoles via the HDMI and USB inputs. 

Other key specs are still missing, like color space coverage and HDR support. However, they're reportedly priced at $6,900 for the 80-inch and $7,900 for the 100-inch model, so you'd expect all the bells and whistles possible. Currently, the most advanced UST projectors out there are Samsung's LSP7T 4K with HDR10+ starting at $3,500, the $3,000 Formovie Theater with Dolby Vision and HiSense's L9G 3,000-lumen Laser TV projectors with Dolby Vision priced at $5,000 with a 100-inch ALR screen. 

Following a leak last week, Microsoft has unveiled the Game Pass Friends & Family in Ireland, offering the same benefits of Game Pass Ultimate for you and four others at €22 ($22) per month. That's less than double the Game Pass Ultimate price for one person (€13), and works out to just €4.40 ($4.40) a month each. Better still, it's not limited to family and the only restriction is that all four members have to be in the same country. 

So far, it's come to just two countries, but that might change soon. "Currently we are piloting this plan in Colombia and the Republic of Ireland. Future countries / regions might be added in the next months," Microsoft wrote in a FAQ.

Users in those countries with an existing Game Pass Ultimate plan will see their remaining days pro-rated, basically according to the price difference. That means for 30 days of Game Pass Ultimate you'll get 18 days of Game Pass Friends & family, while 30 days of Xbox Game Pass or Live Gold gets you 12 days. 30 days of EA Play nets 6 days of Game Pass Friends & Family.

In the US, Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass costs $10 per month, while Game Pass Ultimate is $15 with multiplayer capabilities. The Game Pass Friends & Family is likely to cost around $25 stateside, according to The Verge, or $5 per month per person. On top of multiplayer, Ultimate users can also access Xbox Cloud Gaming, Xbox Live and more. 

Meta is axing Facebook's Nextdoor-like product called Neighborhoods before it even becomes available to most users. The social network started offering it to select users in Canada back in 2020, touting it as a dedicated space where people can interact with their local communities. It expanded its tests last year and rolled out access to various communities across Canada and the US. Based on the screenshot of a post written by a Meta product manager and obtained by social media consultant Matt Navarra, the company is ending its test of Neighborhoods on October 1st. It will no longer be available after that date.

Groups revolving around local communities aren't new or rare on the website, but Neighborhoods spaces come with special features. They allow users to create separate profiles where they can limit their public information if they don't want people nearby to know too much about them. Users can also find groups for specific activities that are populated with locals through the Neighborhoods tab. 

The product manager didn't mention why Meta is shutting down Neighborhoods in their announcement. According to TechCrunch, though, the company said it originally invested in the project when it saw how popular Nextdoor was. However, it reportedly decided that the best thing to do for this particular area is to let people form their own local communities using the website's existing Groups feature.

Another possible explanation is that Meta is shutting down the project as part of its cost-cutting efforts. It also recently announced that it's closing the standalone Facebook Gaming app in what could be a move to help the company survive what Mark Zuckerberg calls "one of the worst downturns [it has seen] in recent history."

Apple's big annual iPhone event is only a few days away and we'll soon find out exactly what the company has up its sleeve. In the meantime, the rumor mill is still churning away. The latest word on the street concerns the dual hole-punch cutouts that the iPhone 14 Pro is expected to have.

According to 9to5Mac and MacRumors (with corroboration from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman), Apple will fill the gap between the cutouts with a blacked-out area of the screen, making it appear to be a single "wide pill-shaped cutout." Also interesting is what Apple seemingly plans to do with that section of the display.

The reports suggest iPhone 14 Pro will move the privacy indicators for the camera and microphone to that gap. Instead of showing a small orange dot in the top-right corner when the microphone is in use and a green dot when the camera is active, these indicators will apparently have more prominence between the cutouts.

Per 9to5Mac, Apple's thinking is to make the indicators look more like they do on MacBook, which shows a green indicator whenever an app is using the camera. On top of that, the iPhone 14 Pro would be able to show privacy indicators for the camera and microphone simultaneously — on current models, if both are in use, only a green dot is displayed. Additionally, it seems you'll be able to tap on the privacy indicators to see which apps are using the mic and camera.

Meanwhile, Apple may be redesigning the Camera app to position more controls at the top of the screen — namely the flash and Live Photo buttons. More photo and video settings might appear below the hole-punch cutouts. These changes aren't set in stone, according to 9to5Mac, which may be a good thing, as folks may not want to cover most of the display with their hand while they adjust photo and video settings.

After plenty of leaks, Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed Mirage is the next entry in its long-running series. More details are expected to drop during the Ubisoft Forward event September 10th, but for now we can gleam some tidbits from the announcement image. It shows Basim Ibn Ishaq, a character from the recent Assassin's Creed Valhalla, leaping with his hidden blade in front of the Palace of the Golden Gate in Baghdad (via Polygon).

That lines up with previous leaks around the game's setting, which also indicated that Mirage would be a return to stealth gameplay for the series. The new title was originally intended to be DLC for Valhalla, but Bloomberg reports that it was later transformed into a standalone experience to fill out Ubisoft's release schedule. No matter its conception, it's nice to see the series return to its Middle Eastern roots. Being a super-powered killing machine in Origins and Valhalla is fun and all, but it's far from the methodical and less action-heavy gameplay of the earlier AC games (especially the under-rated Origins).

343 Industries had a mixed bag of news for Halo Infinite players with the reveal of its latest roadmap. The long-awaited couch co-op mode for the campaign, a staple of the Halo series, is no longer happening. Head of creative Joseph Staten said in a developer update video that "we have had to make the difficult decision not to ship campaign split-screen co-op." The studio made the call in order shift resources to other priorities, including "experiences we're not quite ready to talk about yet."

It's a blow for those who enjoy split-screen co-op. While that experience is still available in some titles — such as Fortnite, Minecraft, Rocket League and It Takes Two — it doesn't seem as common compared to the games of yesteryear.

There was another Halo Infinite disappointment, as 343 revealed that season 3 won't start in November after all. The studio has delayed that until March, meaning that season 2 will run for over 10 months.

On the plus side, 343 will add the online campaign co-op mode as part of a winter update on November 8th. A mission replay option will be available too. Another boon for players is the fact the long-delayed Forge custom game mode will go live with the update. While Forge will be in open beta at first, 343 has said that it will be available persistently. That should help to open up the game and give players much more to do.

In addition, 343 will add two new maps on November 8th, as well as a free 30-tier battle pass and a game mode called Covert One Flag. The Match XP beta will be another welcome addition. While 343 didn't elaborate on what that entails, it seems likely that you'll be able to make faster battle pass progress beyond only gaining XP for completing specific challenges.

Looking further ahead, 343 Industries is planning to introduce new arena and Big Team Battle maps on March 7th, when season 3 begins. Other planned updates include a piece of equipment called Shroud Screen, in-game reporting tools, a Forge custom game browser, more game modes and fresh events.

There’s a new, super-fast, version of USB 4 on the horizon and you won’t even have to buy a brand new cable to take advantage of it. The USB Promoter Group announced that the next-gen USB Version 2.0 standard is “pending release” and will double the bandwidth of existing USB 4 connectors, from 40 Gbps to up to 80 Gbps.

Amazingly, the new standard is also backwards compatible with previous USB 4 cables. This means that existing USB-C cables capable of 40 Gbps will also get the faster speeds when the new standard becomes available. From the press release: “Key characteristics of the updated USB4 solution include: Up to 80 Gbps operation, based on a new physical layer architecture, using existing 40 Gbps USB Type-C passive cables and newly-defined 80 Gbps USB Type-C active cables.”

The USB promoter Group didn’t explain the details around how that’s possible, but a spokesperson for the organization told The Verge it was “a requirement when the new specification was developed and the specifics as to how 80Gbps signaling is accomplished will be disclosed once the final specification is released.”

It’s not yet clear when the new standard will actually reach consumers. In its press release, the USB Promoter Group said the “update is specifically targeted to developers at this time” so it could still be some time before the rest of us can get computers with the new super-fast connector.

We knew MoviePass was gearing up to relaunch its beta service on September 5th, now Insider reports that it's targeting Chicago, Kansas City and Dallas as its first major markets. Waitlisted customers in those cities will be able to sign up for one of the company's plans: $10 a month for up to three movies, $20 a month for a maximum of four, and $30 monthly for five films. It also sounds like the company's waitlist was wildly successful. According to CEO and original co-founder Stacy Spikes, over 775,000 people signed up in the first five days. The initial rush of 30,000 signups in the first five minutes also crashed the company's server. (Not a great sign for stability, but it's clear that people genuinely want this service.)

While it's a momentous occasion for MoviePass, which rose to glory with its $10 unlimited movie ticket subscription plan, then crashed spectacularly when that failed to be sustainable, it remains to be seen how Spikes will steer the company in its newest form. A bungled launch event in February pointed to virtual currency and shareable credits coming into play, as well as controversial eye-tracking technology from his previous company Preshow. Those concepts aren't a part of the upcoming beta, but they could be something Spikes revisits down the line.

It'll be interesting to see if MoviePass can survive now that most theaters companies have their own subscription plans. The service also only works with standard movie tickets, not IMAX or other large format screens. Spikes says the company is looking into supporting those screenings down the line.

YouTube and Google are the latest platforms to share more about how they are preparing for the upcoming midterm elections, and the flood of misinformation that will come with it.

For YouTube, much of that strategy hinges on continuing to counter misinformation about the 2020 presidential election. The company’s election misinformation policies already prohibit videos that allege “widespread fraud, errors, or glitches” occurred in any previous presidential election. In a new blog post about its preparations for the midterms, the company says it's already removed “a number of videos related to the midterms” for breaking these rules, and that other channels have been temporarily suspended for videos related to the upcoming midterms.

The update comes as YouTube continues to face scrutiny for its handling of the 2020 election, and whether its recommendations pushed some people toward election fraud videos. (Of note, the Journal of Online Trust and Safety published a study on the topic today.)

In addition to taking down videos, YouTube also says it will launch “an educational media literacy campaign” aimed at educating viewers about “manipulation tactics used to spread misinformation.” The campaign will launch in the United States first, and will cover topics like “using emotional language” and “cherry picking information,” according to the company.

Google

And Both Google and YouTube will promote authoritative election information in their services, including in search results. Before the midterms, YouTube will link to information about how to vote, and on Election day, videos related to the midterms will link to “timely context around election results.” Similarly, Google will surface election results directly in search, which it has done in previous elections as well.

The company is also trying to make it easier to find details about local and regional races. Beginning in “the coming weeks,” Google will highlight local news sources from different states in election-related searches.

Amazon lockers are already supposed to fend off package thieves, but some now perhaps have an extra layer of security. Washington DC is the first city in the US to test Amazon lockers at police stations. This week, Metropolitan Police Department installed the lockers at two sites in the city. The department and Amazon plan to position lockers at more stations if the pilot goes well, according to Washingtonian.

On the surface, it's a logical move to vex porch pirates. It's unlikely that anyone would try pinching a package from a police station. It's a little odd to imagine someone being released from custody only to pick up a package before they leave a police station.

Amazon already has several ties to law enforcement agencies. Earlier this summer, it emerged that the company has given police footage from Ring cameras on at least 11 occasions without a court order or user consent. Law enforcement was also able to use Amazon's facial recognition tech for a time. The company enacted a one-year ban on police use of Rekognition in 2020, and it extended that measure indefinitely last year.