Bandai Namco expected to sell four million copies of FromSoftware's Elden Ring. Considering Dark Souls 3 sold three million copies in the month it came out, that seemed a relatively ambitious goal. Elden Ring, however, eclipsed the company's expectations: It sold 12 million units worldwide, one million in Japan alone, within 18 days of its release.

Elden Ring was made with help from Game of Thrones author George R. R. Martin, who wrote the overarching mythos for the game — yes, there are dragons — so one part of the press release may not be a huge surprise: the possibility of expanding the IP "beyond the realm of games." Elden Ring, a new HBO series, coming soon?

— Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Two master skydivers will swap planes mid-air in Hulu livestream

• Epson's latest laser projector promises 4K 120Hz output for $3,999

• Congressional bills would ban tech mergers over $5 billion

• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope passes key optics tests

• Sam Barlow's Immortality trilogy hits Xbox and PC this summer

Apple iPad Air (2022) review

Almost future proof.

Engadget

Nathan Ingraham thinks the iPad Air is the best iPad for most people: It’s significantly better than the basic $329 iPad and is nearly identical to the 11-inch iPad Pro, which costs $200 more than the Air. If you want a bigger or smaller screen, the iPad mini and 12.9-inch iPad Pro are still great options. But if you want a premium tablet that’s about as future-proof as it gets, the iPad Air is the way to go.

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Netflix tests out ways to stop you sharing your login

It's kicking off a test in Peru, Chile and Costa Rica.

Netflix is gearing up to do something about unauthorized account sharing. After testing a notification last year that pushed people to stop mooching and get their own Netflix accounts, the company has announced another test in Chile, Costa Rica and Peru, which will let subscribers pay extra to share their accounts with people outside their home. According to Variety, subscribers will be able to add up to two "sub-members" for $2.99 each in Costa Rica. Those users will get their own Netflix logins, recommendations and profile.

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Chipotle's experimental tortilla robots know to add a little variety

Just tortilla chips for now.

Chipotle is testing Chippy, a version of Miso Robotics' arm-based automaton (already in use at White Castle) customized to make tortilla chips. The bot not only knows how to replicate Chipotle's recipe but is smart enough to add "subtle variations" to keep things interesting — you might get a little more lime or salt.

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Netflix brings Ukraine president’s sitcom back to its US service

The service claims 'Servant of the People' is back by popular demand.

Netflix

Before he became president, Volodymyr Zelensky was a famous actor and comedian. He starred in a satirical comedy series called Servant of the People, which is now once again available to view on Netflix in the US. It’s an odd move, amid the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in which thousands of people have been killed.

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How to sell your used and unwanted gadgets

There are lots of ways to make a buck off your old stuff.

Our latest spring-cleaning guide is about clearing out your old tech — and hopefully making cash out of it. We highlight the best trade-in sites and stores, advice on how to sell directly and how to get the best cash-back deals, too. Maybe you’d be interested in an OLED upgrade for your old Switch?

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Audio-Technica's 20-hour earbuds are now available in the US for $149

Even with ANC on, the company promises up to 15 hours of use.

Audio-Technica introduced its latest true wireless earbuds last month in the UK and EU, and now you can order the long-lasting ATH-CKS50TW model in the US. For $149, you can expect up to 20 hours of battery life with active noise cancellation (ANC) disabled and up to 15 hours with it on. That's well beyond what most of the competition offers — with or without noise-canceling abilities. The buds are due to ship early-to-mid April.

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Amazon has incorporated a number of new features and upgrades into its newest Fresh grocery store in Seattle in a bid to secure net-zero carbon certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI). One of the first upgrades shoppers will notice when they visit is the free electric vehicle charging stations in the parking lots. Inside, the changes aren't as visible. The store uses CO2-based refrigerant instead of artificial refrigerant, which Amazon says reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 38 metric tons per year.

Its floor looks like standard concrete, but it actually uses recycled materials from the steel industries. Amazon says doing so reduced the store's carbon footprint more than any of its other initiatives and lowered the carbon associated with floor manufacturing and installation by 40 percent compared to standard concrete. 

In the kitchen, everything has been electrified. The store is equipped with electric water heaters, electric burners and electric ovens. And, of course, the store is fully powered by renewable energy from Amazon's projects as part of its efforts towards relying entirely on renewable sources of electricity by 2025. Amazon expects all those changes and measures to save the store nearly 185 tons of CO2e, or Carbon dioxide equivalent, each year. That's apparently comparable to driving around our planet 18 times in a standard passenger vehicle.

The company will be measuring the real-time impact of all those changes and features using a system built by Amazon Web Services. It plans to apply what it learns from this project into future locations and buildings, so we may see more net-zero carbon Fresh groceries pop up. Seeing as it also recently shifted its retail strategy to focus on groceries, that's a big possibility.

Kara Hurst, vice president of Worldwide Sustainability at Amazon, said in a statement:

"In order to deliver on our commitments to The Climate Pledge, we must work together across all areas of our business to develop solutions to decarbonize. It's meaningful progress to open our latest Amazon Fresh Store seeking net-zero carbon certification, and I'm proud of the innovation and technology that the store offers to customers and employees, and for the environment."

Amazon's Climate Pledge initiative aims to eliminate the company's carbon emissions by 2040, and this is one of the avenues it's exploring in order to achieve that goal. Two years ago, the e-commerce giant also committed $2 billion to companies developing clean energy technology as part the initiative, including firms developing EV charging solutions and alternative fuel. 

The ILFI will be reviewing the Seattle Fresh grocery's performance data for 12 consecutive months to ensure that the store meets its standards. If the location passes muster, it will be first grocery store to achieve net-zero carbon certification for this particular organization, though it won't be the first in the world.

Ever since their launch in mid-July 2019, Sony's WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds have remained as one of the best in-ear wireless buds you can buy. With impressive sound quality and excellent noise cancellation, the XM3s were great value at their regular $200 price, but right now you can pick up a pair at Amazon for just $118. That's a whopping 40-percent discount and the lowest price we've seen yet.

The WF-1000XM3s scored an 89 in our Engadget review and placed number one in our 2019 wireless earbuds buyer's guide. That's down, in part, to the excellent sound quality with bass that's powerful yet clear, bright highs and solid performance for all genres of music. The active noise cancellation is also seriously good, blocking out most background noise, while lasting around six hours on a charge with the feature enabled. The case, however, will provide you with roughly another 18 hours of juice for when you're on the go.

There are some minor downsides, including the blocky design of the buds and case, which Sony did improve with the launch of the $248 WF-1000XM4 model — which have also topped our wireless earphone buyer's guide. Those six hours of battery life are also two less than the eight hours offered by its successor.

If it's over-ears you want, we should remind you that our current favorite pair of ANC headphones, Sony's WH-1000XM4, are still discounted to $278 right now. That's $72 off their usual price and close to an all-time low. They earned a score of 94 from us for their powerful ANC, immersive sound quality and multi-device connectivity.

Facebook's Ray-Ban Stories are available in Spain, Austria and Belgium starting today, and they will also make their way to France on April 14th. In addition to expanding the smart glasses' availability, Facebook has also introduced new and upcoming features for the device, including the ability to record up to 60 seconds of video. That doubles the previous limit of 30 seconds of video, captured using the dual 5-megapixel cameras on the front of the Stories' frame. 

We found the glasses' video quality to be surprisingly good and even very stable when we tested it out. A LED lights up to notify people around you that you're recording, but the fact that it's lot easier to start recording videos through the glasses than through a phone has raised privacy concerns from the start. Nevertheless, 60-second recording will roll out with a software update in early April.

To support the smart glasses' expansion, Facebook View will now be available in French, Spanish, Dutch and German. As the Stories' companion app, View gives you a way to edit and enhance your shots, as well as to upload them straight to social media websites. Facebook is also giving the glasses the ability to understand voice commands in French and Italian, allowing you to take photos and videos hands-free. And, yes, the device can now deliver audible notifications, such as "low battery" and "full storage" alerts, in those languages. 

Finally, Facebook and Ray-Ban owner Luxottica are unveiling 4 new color and lens combinations for the Stories in early April, bringing the total variations to 28. The smart glasses will be available in their new markets with prices starting at $299/€329.

Dyson's hairstyling gadgets have been among some of the most popular around, and one of the most intriguing is the Airwrap. It's a curler that can double as a straightener, and you may even have seen one of the mesmerizing GIFs where strands of hair attach themselves to the rod, as if by magic. The Airwrap Complete, which came with all six attachments, as well as cases and accessories, cost $550. Today, Dyson announced that a new version is coming this summer. It'll work faster and come with a slew of new attachments to make styling your hair easier. 

As a refresher, the Airwrap uses a high-pressure motor to power the "Coandă effect," which gently pulls hair (and air) towards its surface. Dyson said that since launching the original Airwrap in 2018, its engineers challenged themselves to "miniaturize and multiply the Coandă effect" to make the device more versatile. 

In addition to the performance improvements, the company also designed new attachments, and the most intriguing one, especially for those familiar with the previous Airwrap, are new styling barrels that can curl hair clockwise and anti-clockwise. Before, you would have had to check the arrows on the barrel to make sure you have the right direction set up, and if you wanted to change it up mid-style, you'd need to switch out the attachments. With the new attachment, you'd just have to toggle a switch at the top of the rotating cool tip.

The barrels come in 30mm, 40mm, 30mm long, 40mm long and 20mm long for various curl sizes. There's also a new smoothing dryer that, as its name suggests, can both smooth and dry your hair. Dyson also added firm and soft brush attachments, available in large and small, for those who prefer a straight finish. 

Importantly, Dyson said owners of existing Airwraps can "upgrade to these latest attachments, whilst retaining the original machine." And like the previous version, the new Airwrap can also work on damp hair (that's 80 percent dry) and can style your locks without extreme heat.

While pricing is not available at the moment, Dyson's products tend to cost around $500. Like I said, the previous Airwrap with all its attachments cost $549, while the Corrale straightener will set you back $500. The Supersonic hairdryer, meanwhile, is $400. Still, though the company's hairstyling gadgets have been more expensive than most, they've also generally been well-received and can last a long time. 

Twitter said it has "labeled or removed" more than 50,000 pieces of content that broke its policy on manipulated media in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, the company shared in a blog post today. Additionally, the platform removed roughly 75,000 accounts for “inauthentic behavior” and spam. Though this number encompassed users not specifically engaged in war propaganda, it included accounts associated with #IStandWithPutin, a hashtag that went viral last month thanks to a coordinated campaign of fake accounts. 

Unlike previous times where a single government or a state information campaign was to blame, Twitter found a wide range of actors were responsible for manipulating the platform, such as those recirculating old conflict footage as if it were new, as well as the many Ukraine-related fundraising scams that have cropped up in the wake of the invasion.

Last month Twitter also promised to not amplify any tweets from users that included links to state-affiliated media (a step-up from its old policy, which was not to amplify or promote tweets that were only directly from accounts of the state-affiliated media). Since February 28th, Twitter says it has labeled more than 61,000 unique tweets that included links to state-run media. It estimates doing so reduced the reach of these tweets by around 30 percent. 

Twitter has allowed Kremlin-backed media like RT and Sputnik (as well as other state-run media) to continue to operate their verified accounts, but labels and accordingly demotes what the outlets tweet. Both propaganda outlets are also banned from advertising on Twitter.

Misinformation about the invasion of Ukraine has thrived on social media, especially in the form of misleading photos and video. The government of Russia has blocked access to most Western-operated platforms for civilians (including Google, Facebook, Twitter and TikTok), largely as a way to suppress dissent amongst its own people. But the Kremlin’s own disinformation campaigns on these platforms appear to continue apace. A Russia-backed theory that the U.S. is helping Ukraine build bioweapons was further amplified by Chinese state media, as well as far-right and right-wing figures in the United States.

Facebook’s policy banning deepfakes was the latest to be put to the test amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, the company confirmed it has removed a video that purportedly showed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but was actually a shoddy deepfake.

“Earlier today, our teams identified and removed a deepfake video claiming to show President Zelensky issuing a statement he never did,” Meta’s head of Security Policy Nathaniel Gleicher said in a statement. “It appeared on a reportedly compromised website and then started showing across the internet.” He said the company pulled the video in line with its “manipulated media” policy, which has banned the use of deepfakes for more than two years.

Fact-checking website Snopes reported that the video, which it described as “poorly done,” also aired on a Ukrainian TV station that was reportedly hacked. The site also noted that there were obvious signs that the footage was fake, like the fact that Zelensky’s head didn’t “seem to quite fit on his neck.” Zelensky himself also debunked the video on his Instagram account.

Cryptocurrency will soon be a legal asset class in Ukraine, thanks to a new bill signed into law by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation tweeted today that both foreign and Ukrainian cryptocurrency exchanges are cleared to operate in the country. Crypto companies will soon be able to open accounts in Ukrainian banks as well. The world has sent an estimated $100 million in crypto donations to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, including the Ukrainian military, aid groups, hacktivists and everyday citizens.

“The signing of this Law by the President is another important step towards bringing the crypto sector out of the shadows and launching a legal market for virtual assets in Ukraine,” wrote Ukraine's Ministry of Digital Transformation in its announcement of the law’s signing.

Cryptocurrency has technically not been illegal in Ukraine (hence the millions in donations and the nation’s status as the leading country for crypto adoption). But digital assets in Ukraine have more or less operated in a legal gray area. Neither people nor companies in Ukraine could own or trade crypto in the market, for example. A spike in crypto crime and money laundering in Ukraine and Eastern Europe in recent years led to the nation's government cracking down on the industry.

The new law sets forth a legal framework for Ukraine’s burgeoning crypto industry to exist, as well as taps the National Bank of Ukraine and its National Commission on Securities and Stock Market to serve as regulators. It also paves the way for more laws and a tax code on crypto, which, hopefully, will further legitimize the crypto industry in Ukraine. 

Google just announced that its annual I/O developer conference is taking place at the Shoreline Amphitheater on May 11th and 12th with a "limited live audience." This would mark the first time there has been any in-person component of I/O since 2019, but right now details are scarce as to who will be in that audience.

The "save the date" Google just shared said that the event this year will be "completely free and open to everyone virtually" and encouraged potential attendees to "plan to tune in online." From the sound of things, Google will just be using the Shoreline Amphitheater as a venue to broadcast from, rather than a place where attendees can gather, but we're reaching out to Google to confirm this. Basically, don't book any plane tickets to California yet, because chances are you'll be watching at home just like last year.

Google I/O was canceled entirely in 2020 in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the 2021 event took place virtually, like so many other tech events have in the last two years. While cases in the US have dropped significantly since peaking earlier this year thanks to the Omicron variant, it appears Google is putting safety first.  

Senator Elizabeth Warren has long made clear that she's no fan of Big Tech, and her latest legislation proves it. She and House Representative Mondaire Jones have introduced legislation in their respective congressional chambers that would effectively ban large technology mergers. The Prohibiting Anticompetitive Mergers Act (PAMA) would make it illegal to pursue "prohibited mergers," including those worth more than $5 billion or which provide market shares beyond 25 percent for employers and 33 percent for sellers.

The bills would also give antitrust regulators more power to halt and review mergers. They would have authority to reject mergers outright, without requiring court orders. They would likewise bar mergers from companies with track records of antitrust violations or other instances of "corporate crime" in the past decade. Officials would have to gauge the impact of these acquisition on labor forces, and wouldn't be allowed to negotiate with the companies to secure "remedies" for clearing mergers.

Crucially, PAMA would formalize procedures for reviewing past mergers and breaking up "harmful deals" that allegedly hurt competition. The Federal Trade Commission has signalled a willingness to split up tech giants like Meta despite approving mergers years earlier. PAMA might make it easier to unwind those acquisitions and force brands like Instagram and WhatsApp to operate as separate businesses.

The act isn't strictly focused on tech, but Warren made clear that industry was a target. She cautioned the FTC on Amazon's proposed buyout of MGM Studios, and challenged Lockheed Martin's since-abandoned attempt to buy Aerojet Rocketdyne.

If it becomes law, PAMA would ban the Amazon-MGM union (worth over $8.4 billion), Microsoft's Activision deal ($68.7 billion) and relatively modest acquisitions like Google's planned buyout of Mandiant ($5.4 billion). Tech firms would largely have to focus on acquiring 'small' companies, and would largely have to forego deals meant to expand market share or otherwise cement dominance in a given market.

However, there are obstacles that might prevent PAMA from reaching President Biden's desk. Both the Senate and House bills have no Republican cosponsors — they're either Democrats or left-leaning independents like Senator Bernie Sanders. That's enough to clear the House, but the Senate bill could fail if it doesn't obtain total support from sitting Democrats. As such, this may represent more of a declaration of Democrats' intentions than a fundamental change in regulatory policies.