Amazon may soon more directly compete with Instacart. According to The Information, the company has spent much of the last year trialing a product known internally as Amazon Fresh Marketplace. The service allows UK Prime subscribers to order groceries from two major supermarket brands, with same-day delivery fulfilled by the company’s Flex drivers. In 2022, Amazon reportedly plans to bring the service to the US and the majority of Europe.

Amazon declined to comment on the specifics of its plans but did share a statement with Engadget. “Our focus is on providing Amazon customers the best possible experience when it comes to grocery delivery whether that is from Amazon Fresh, Whole Foods Market, or one of our local stores like Bartell’s in Seattle, Morrison’s in London, or Monoprix in Paris,” a spokesperson for the company said. “Partnerships with other grocers enable more customers to shop online and allow us to provide Amazon Prime members with more choice, value and convenience while our partners benefit from increased visibility for their selection and service.”

If the service does come to the US, it wouldn’t be Amazon’s first foray into the grocery delivery market. Since 2020, the company has offered a Whole Foods delivery service through its Flex program. The company has also more broadly experimented with food delivery. The most notable example was in 2015 when it launched Amazon Restaurants, allowing Prime members to order food from their favorite local spots. In 2019, Amazon shut down both its Restaurants business and Daily Dish, a workplace lunch delivery service it had operated for two years.

Hyundai finally announced pricing for its hotly anticipated Ioniq 5 crossover EV, which is scheduled to hit select dealer show floors later this month. Depending on the battery size and drive type, prospective buyers should expect to pay between $39,700 and $54,500 for one of their own.

The Ioniq 5 will be available in three trim levels — SE, SEL, and Limited — and come with either a 77.4kWh pack, which is rated for 303 miles of range using RWD (256 miles with AWD), or a smaller 58-kWh battery with 220 miles of range. 

Don't expect to see any of the smaller battery models on US roads to start. Hyundai is initially focusing on producing units with the larger battery pack and saving the 220 mile, 168 HP SE Standard Range until spring 2022. The 303-mile, 225HP rear motor SE starts at $43,650 ($47,150 for the 320 HP, AWD version, the RWD SEL will cost $45,900 ($49,500 for AWD) and the top of the line Limited will go for $50,600 as an RWD ($54,500 for AWD). Optional features and a $1,225 freight charges are of course extra. 

Hyundai's pricing point puts the Ioniq 5 on par with the 2021 Kia Niro EV, which starts at $39,090, and the 2021 Volkswagen ID.4 with its $39,995 MSRP — even if you splurge for the Ioniq's higher trim levels, you'll only begin to stray into, say, the Mach-E's introductory price range ($42,895 for the base, $48,100 for Premium, and a smooth $60k for a GT). 

Will the Ioniq 5's performance live up to the hype? Will its features overdeliver given its surprisingly affordable price tag? Find out later this week when our First Look at Hyundai's newest EV goes live. Stay tuned!  

With a narrative that has spanned the course of history, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed franchise has frequently seen some of its characters overlap with one another. In Assassin’s Creed Rogue, for instance, we saw protagonist Shay Cormac run into Adéwalé of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Haytham Kenway of Assassin’s Creed III. But those characters were all contemporaries of one another, and Ubisoft is now doing something different.

As part of the franchise’s first crossover event, the publisher is adding new story missions to Odyssey and Valhalla that will see protagonists Kassandra and Eivor come face-to-face. What’s an ancient Greek doing in 9th century England? We don’t know, but presumably, the Animus has something to do with it, and the event may even be a hint of what we can expect from the franchise's rumored online entry. The first story, “Those Who Are Treasured,” will take place in Odyssey, while the second, “A Fated Encounter,” will debut in Valhalla. Both will be available once the 1.4.1 and 1.5.6 title updates for their respective games launch on December 14th. By completing the stories, you’ll earn new equipment for your character.

On Monday, Ubisoft also announced Dawn of Ragnarök, the newest DLC for Valhalla. The publisher is billing the release as its most ambitious Assassin’s Creed expansion to date. It will add approximately 35 hours of additional gameplay that will explore more of Eivor’s connection to Odin. Ubisoft plans to release the DLC on March 10th, 2022.

Tornadoes ripped through six states on Friday, killing dozens. Among the dead were six workers at an Amazon warehouse in Edwardsville, IL, which collapsed while they sheltered inside. The incident is now the subject of an OSHA investigation.

The mass casualty event is likely Kentucky's "deadliest tornado system in state history," according to ABC. The twisters also touched down in December, well outside the normal tornado season. While this may have been an unusually extreme weather event for many reasons, Amazon's decision to schedule its workers during potentially deadly conditions isn't. Reportedly, at the time the cyclone touched down in warehouse's parking lot — producing winds estimated at 155 miles per hour — the facility was not only operating, but undergoing a shift change. 

Amazon operates a staggering number of fulfillment, sortation and delivery centers across the country, and as a result, some of them are bound to be taken by surprise by the forces of nature. Excessive snow on the roof of one warehouse in Pennsylvania resulted in an evacuation when workers noticed the it buckling. Two contractors were killed by a collapsing wall when a tornado touched down without warning in Baltimore. 

But the National Weather Service had been warning of possible tornadoes 36 hours ahead of the deaths in Edwardsville; the morning before the storms it cautioned of the "likely threat" of "damaging winds in excess of 60 mph." Edwardsville is in what FEMA categorizes as Wind Zone IV, the part of the country at the greatest risk of tornadoes. 

Amazon is perhaps better known in media coverage for its punishing productivitygoals. But its operating standards have produced a pattern of incidents where workers were expected to clock in during extreme weather events. Warehouses stayed open during tropical depression Ida in September, the torrential rains of which caused widespread flooding and led to 14 deaths in New York. Some of Amazon's drivers told me they were delivering packages through the floodwaters of hurricane Irma back in 2017.

The Camp Fire of 2018 was the deadliest and costliest wildfire in California's history. Smoke from the destruction also briefly made Sacramento the most polluted city on earth. Despite air quality warnings being issued for the city on November 8th, an Amazon warehouse there did not send its workers home until the afternoon of the 10th. 

By far, however, the most pervasive issue across Amazon's warehouses has been extreme heat. Workers in the Pacific Northwest were expected to report for duty during a historic heatwave this past summer which was eventually deemed a mass casualty event. Specifically, a worker complained that some areas of a warehouse in Kent lacked fans, and estimated temperature inside hit 90 degrees. New York warehouse workers also reported fainting and excessive heat around the same time. In May of this year, excessive heat led to a death inside the company's Bessemer, Alabama warehouse. 

These are only some of the most recent examples. Workers have been lodging similar complaints for at least a decade about dangerous temperatures inside Amazon's facilities in Chicago, Portland and Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, among others. Even when immediate symptoms like fainting, vomiting or heat stroke are not present, long term heat exposure can exacerbate existing health problems such as heart conditions and asthma. 

None of this speaks to criticisms of Amazon's safety measures related to COVID-19, or its objectively sky-high injury rate compared to other warehousing operations.

What's concerning is that, according to the overwhelming majority of the scientific community, severe winds, rain and heat are likely to get worse due to man-made climate change. Amazon, however, has not offered a satisfactory explanation for why it continues to schedule shifts during potentially deadly weather, nor would it provide Engadget with any details of the extreme weather plan in effect at the Edwardsville facility. 

“We’re deeply saddened by the news that members of our Amazon family passed away as a result of the storm in Edwardsville, IL," an Amazon spokesperson told Engadget. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their loved ones, and everyone impacted by the tornado. We also want to thank all the first responders for their ongoing efforts on scene. We’re continuing to provide support to our employees and partners in the area.”

Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has opened an investigation into Apple's App Tracking Transparency feature. Introduced with iOS 14.5, it's a prompt developers had to add to their apps to ask iOS users for their permission to track them across apps. Apple announced the feature at WWDC 2020. It was initially scheduled to launch alongside iOS 14, but the company subsequently delayed it to give developers more time for implementation.

The feature was almost immediately controversial with advertisers. In particular, Meta, then known as Facebook, said it would have potentially dire effects on its ad network. Now, Poland's competition watchdog is investigating ATT, in part due to antitrust concerns. The regulator contends it "does not mean that users' information is no longer being collected and that they do not receive personalized ads." At the same time, it says it has concerns Apple may have introduced the feature to promote Apple Search Ads.

"During the course of our investigation, we want to examine whether Apple's actions may be aimed at eliminating competitors in the market for personalized advertising services, the objective being to better sell their own service," said Tomasz Chróstny, the President of UOKiK.

We've reached out to Apple for comment.

As noted by TechCrunch, the probe follows a recent study from adblocker Lockdown Privacy that questioned the effectiveness of the App Tracking Transparency feature. The study claims the feature only creates "the illusion of privacy." While the vast majority of iPhone owners have used the feature to opt out of app tracking, researchers found ATT "made no difference" in the total number of active third-party trackers.

All the way back at WWDC, Apple showed off a feature called Universal Control, which will let users control multiple Macs and iPads with a single mouse and keyboard or trackpad. When it released macOS Monterey in October, Apple said that feature and SharePlay would arrive on Macs later in the fall. Although SharePlay is now available on Mac, you'll need to wait a bit longer for Universal Control.

Apple quietly updated its website to state that Universal Control won't be available until spring 2022. The delay, which was spotted by 9to5 Mac, might come as a disappointment to those who were hoping for more seamless connectivity between their devices in the near future. Still, it's better to make sure the feature is working correctly instead of releasing a potentially buggy version.

When it does arrive, the feature will be available on MacBook and Macbook Pro (2016 and later), the 2019 Mac Pro, MacBook Air (2018 and later), iMac (2017 and later) and the 5K Retina 27-inch iMac from late 2015. As for supported tablets, you'll be able to use iPad Pro, iPad Air (3rd generation and later), iPad (6th generation and later) and iPad mini (5th generation and later) with Universal Control.

You'll need to be logged into iCloud with the same Apple ID on all devices. You can connect them over USB, or you can use Universal Control wirelessly as long as the devices are within 30 feet of each other.

Apple has released Tracker Detect, a new Android app designed to help those without an iOS device to find out if someone is using an AirTag or other Find My-compatible device to snoop their location. When the software finds a nearby AirTag that’s been separated from its owner, it will flag it as an “Unknown AirTag.” If it then follows you for 10 minutes, you can use the app to tell the tracker to play a sound, making it easier to find. At that point, you can tap the device with your NFC-compatible phone and you’ll get instructions on how to remove its battery or otherwise disable it.

You don’t need an Apple account to use the app. As mentioned above, it can also detect Find My-compatible trackers like the Chipolo One Spot. “AirTag provides industry-leading privacy and security features and today we are extending new capabilities to Android devices. Tracker Detect gives Android users the ability to scan for an AirTag or supported Find My enabled item trackers that might be traveling with them without their knowledge,” an Apple spokesperson told Engadget. “We are raising the bar on privacy for our users and the industry, and hope others will follow.”

The release of Tracker Detect comes following multiple incidents of bad actors abusing AirTags to stalk people. In Canada, for example, police recently warned of thieves using the $29 device to steal expensive cars. In June, Apple, in a separate effort to limit abuse, updated its trackers to play a sound between eight and 24 hours after they’re separated from their owner, instead of after three days as was the case at launch.

How much good Tracker Detect does to protect people will depend on how many people download it. Unlike with iOS, which sends proactive warnings when it detects errant AirTags, this is an app you need to install to your Android device. Its protections aren't built into Android, at least not yet. 

It's a big firmware day for Apple. Not only is the company rolling out updates for iPhone, iPad and HomePod, macOS Monterey‌ 12.1 is now available. Perhaps the most notable new feature is SharePlay, which allows up to 32 people to enjoy the same TV shows, movies, music and livestreams and more in sync with each other on FaceTime calls.

Along with Apple services like TV+, Apple Music and Fitness+, a bunch of third-party apps support SharePlay, including Paramount+, TikTok, Twitch and NBA. Anyone on the call can pause, play, fast forward or rewind the content and Apple will automatically lower the volume of the music or video when someone speaks. You'll be able to share your screen through SharePlay as well.

Apple released SharePlay on iPhone and iPad in October. The company rolled out macOS Monterey on the same day, and said it would bring SharePlay to desktops later in the fall.

Many features Apple brought to iPhone and iPad today have landed on macOS Monterey too. They include support for the $5 per month voice-only plan for Apple Music and a safety setting that warns children when they send or receive an image containing nudity in Messages. The Digital Legacy program lets users denote a trusted contact who can access their iCloud account and personal information when they die, while iCloud+ subscribers can generate unique, random email addresses with the Hide My Email feature in the Mail app.

Elsewhere, Apple has redesigned the memories feature in the Photos app with a new interface, fresh transitions and animations and "multiple image collages." There are more memory types as well, such as extra international holidays, trends over time, ones centered around kids and improved memories for pets.

The company also squished some bugs in macOS Monterey 15.2. It said that, previously, "HDR video playback on YouTube.com could cause 2021 MacBook Pro computers to panic." That shouldn't be a problem anymore. An issue that prevented external displays from charging some MacBook Pro and MacBook Air systems via a Thunderbolt or USB-C connection should be resolved too, while some menu bar options will no longer be obscured by the dreaded notch on the latest MacBook Pro.

Apple has released its latest firmware updates for iPhone and iPad. One of the more notable features Apple is adding in iOS 15.2 and iPadOS 15.2 is the Voice Only plan for Apple Music. For $5 per month, subscribers can access the full library of songs, playlists and radio stations via Siri. 

On iPhone and iPad, you'll be able to access an App Privacy Report, which provides details of the data that Apple and third-party apps accessed during the previous seven days. The report shows how often apps use things like location, photos, camera, microphone and contacts, as well as their network activity.

Also new is Apple's Digital Legacy feature. You can designate contacts who can access your personal information and your iCloud account when you die.

Elsewhere, there's another safety setting for Messages. It will provide children with warnings and helpful resources when they receive or send photos containing nudity. Apple announced this feature alongside CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) detection tools in August. It planned to release the updates as part of iOS 15, but delayed them following a backlash.

Other iPhone and iPad updates include a way to browse, buy, and rent movies and TV shows in one place in the TV app; a macro photo option for the ultra wide lens on iPhone 13 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro Max; an enhanced city map in Apple Maps on CarPlay; and the Hide My Email tool for iCloud+ subscribers in the Mail app.

A firmware update for HomePod OS is also rolling out that enables the Voice Only plan on HomePod mini. HomePod OS 15.2 also adds Siri voice recognition support for other languages. 

When Grand Theft Auto Online’s “The Contract” expansion arrives later this week, Dr. Dre won’t be the only musician joining the game. The DLC will also add a new station hosted by Rosalía and Arca, Rockstar Games announced on Monday. Motomami Los Santos will see the frequent collaborators play music from the likes of Popcaan, Daddy Yankee and Caroline Polachek of Chairlift fame.

The station will also play “La Fama,” the first single off of Rosalía’s upcoming third album, Motomami. While they’re not household names, both Rosalía and Arca have found a lot of success in their respective genres. Rosalía, in particular, has won eight Latin Grammy Awards, including an album of the year award for her sophomore release, El Mal Querer.

In addition to Motomami Los Santos, The Contract will include updates for two existing in-game stations. Radio Los Santos will add new tracks from Hit-Boy, Freddie Gibbs, Future and Tyler, The Creator, while West Coast Classics will host a new segment dedicated to Dr. Dre. It will feature career-defining collaborations the rapper recorded with 2Pac, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Nas and others.

Rockstar Games will release The Contract on December 15th. After the 16th, GTA Online will only be available on PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC.