Every month, Amazon pushes a slate of updates to its Alexa-enabled devices. One of the more noteworthy features Amazon added this month is the ability to move music between Echo devices using your voice. If you want to do so between different speakers in your home, say “Alexa, pause” to the one currently playing music, and then say “Alexa, resume music here” to the device where you want to move your tunes to. The feature also works with Echo Buds and Echo Auto, allowing you to take your music on the go.

If you’re a football fan with an Echo Show, another new feature allows you to ask Alexa to play the Two-Minute drill, an NFL pregame show that will offer expert analysis on the next match your favorite team is about to play. Amazon will release new episodes two days before a game.

Meanwhile, Fire TV device owners now have access to TikTok. You can say “Alexa, play TikTok” to open the app. Lastly, Amazon has added a new automotive hub within the Alexa app that will detail how you can use the digital assistant in your car. Available in the US, the interface allows you to see if your car can work with Alexa. Additionally, it will point you to automotive skills. All told, they’re minor additions individually but should make Alexa more helpful to those who use the digital assistant every day.

Electric transport startup Rivian has been sued by one of its former employees. Per The Wall Street Journal, Laura Schwab, an executive who was a vice president of sales and marketing at the automaker until last month, filed a gender discrimination complaint with the California Superior Court in Orange County on Thursday. In the lawsuit, Schwab alleges she was fired by Rivian after she complained of a “toxic ‘bro culture’” that saw other executives exclude her from meetings and ignore her advice.

“The culture at Rivian was actually the worst I’ve experienced in over 20 years in the automotive industry,” Schwab told The Journal. A veteran of the automotive industry, Schwab held executive posts at Aston Martin Lagonda and Jaguar Land Rover before she joined Rivian in November 2020.

According to the outlet, Schwab tried to push the company to address numerous concerns while she was there. In one instance, she allegedly tried to tell the other executives on Rivian’s leadership team that the company had underpriced its vehicles. In yet another situation, she tried to raise concerns about the quality of the automaker’s manufacturing process. In the former case, the company allegedly initially dismissed her advice only to later follow through on it after a male executive raised the same issue.

The suit comes ahead of Rivian’s planned IPO next week where the company will seek to raise as much as $9.6 billion in additional investment. It also recently started producing R1T trucks for customers. More broadly, the suit comes as several other companies in the tech space face scrutiny over their gender equality practices. Most notably, there’s Activision Blizzard, which was sued by California’s fair employment regulator in July for fostering what it described as a sexist “frat boy” workplace culture. The fallout from that lawsuit has been far-reaching. Following months of pressure from employees, the company ended its policy of forced arbitration in cases involving sexual harassment and discrimination and put in place a zero-tolerance stance toward harassment.

Citing the quiet period ahead of its IPO, Rivian declined to comment on the complaint.  

Apple might loosen its mask requirements at some stores after months of taking a cautious approach. Bloombergclaimed to have an Apple memo outlining plans to lift mask requirements at more than 100 of the iPhone maker's roughly 270 US stores. The policy will reportedly apply to stores in Arizona, California, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and New York before spreading to other states and shops. Apple has declined to comment.

The company is lifting the requirements due to declining COVID-19 case numbers and improving vaccination rates, according to the memo. The policy will apply regardless of a customer's vaccination status, although retail staff will still have to wear masks due to longer interactions and closer contact. Stores will still require masks for everyone in areas where the local government demands the safety measure, such as in Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area.

The company has frequently changed its retail policies as the pandemic has evolved. It has closed and reopened stores based on case levels, for instance. It scrapped the mask requirement in many US stores in June only to bring them back a month later.

Provided the leak is accurate, it's far too soon to say whether or not this policy shift will stick. The pandemic hasn't been entirely predictable, to put it mildly. However, a change in mask requirements would certainly reflect Apple's hopes of returning to pre-pandemic conditions as soon as possible, both in stores and in the office.

Hyundai has shared a handful of teaser images of the Seven, a new all-electric SUV the automaker plans to debut at the AutoMobility LA show later this month. The company notes the concept “hints at a new SUV model coming to the Ioniq family.”

Hyundai

Concept vehicles rarely make it to production without substantial changes, so treat the images accordingly. We probably won’t see the Seven’s successor come with an array of pixel lights or a lounge-like interior. Of the interior, Hyundai says it’s made from sustainable and eco-friendly materials.

Hyundai

In the US, Hyundai’s EV family includes the recently launched Ioniq 5. The base model of the crossover features a 72.6-kWh battery that allows it to travel up to 300 miles on a single charge. Hyundai will debut the Seven on November 17th at 12:55PM ET. Afterward, it will stay on display at the LA Auto Show until November 28th, giving the public a chance to see the EV in person.

Wouldn't it be better if your car could recommend service based on when you're likely to need it, not just a fixed schedule? It just might. Porsche is developing a "digital twin" (that is, a virtual copy) that helps predict service requirements based on driving styles. Algorithms can parse a combination of sensor data and "big data" to recommend service based on your driving style. You may need early work on your suspension if you take your car to the track, or the engine if you have a long highway commute.

The system can even anticipate faults before they happen. That will please mechanics, of course, but it could also keep you safe (and spare you additional repair costs) by scheduling maintenance long before there's a crisis.

Porsche doesn't officially launch its first digital twin until 2022, and then only using sensor data. Field testing is already underway however — about half of Taycan owners have volunteered for a pilot that anonymously monitors the EV's air suspension for body acceleration. If the car ventures past certain thresholds, the vehicle tells the driver they may need to visit a repair shop.

The twin system would let automakers ditch fixed maintenance schedules in favor of driver-specific recommendations. Porsche also envisions the algorithms helping even when your car is running flawlessly. You'd have a digital record that could both suggest an accurate selling price for a used car as well as greater transparency for would-be buyers. Car brands could even pitch extended warranties based on the status of your car. So long as companies take privacy into account, though, this could save you more than a little stress (and moments of sheer panic) on the road.

Square is now allowing all teenagers to use Cash App, after restricting it to adults until now. Those aged 13 to 17 will need permission from a parent or guardian to use the app, however.

Users can send money to each other and receive discounts on some purchases. Teens can also use a Visa debit card called Cash Card to pay for goods. They can add the Cash Card to Apple Pay or Google Pay, and they'll receive a physical version of the card too. The card is customizable — you can choose a color and stamps, draw on it or make it glow in the dark. Changing the design costs $5 and there might be ATM withdrawal fees too.

There are some restrictions on accounts for those aged 13 to 17. Those users' parents or guardians will have access to their transaction records, including transfers, and they can shut down a teen's account and Cash Card at any time. Parents and guardians will be the legal owners of teens' accounts (13- to 17-year-olds will be classified as authorized users).

Under 18s will be locked out of some parts of the app too. They won't be able to trade bitcoin or access the Investing, Borrow, Check Deposit, Paper Money Deposit or Cross-Border Payments features. They can't use their Cash Card at certain businesses either, including bars, car rental places or hotels.

To request access to the app, teens will need to enter their parent or guardian’s information when they're signing up for a card or sending a peer-to-peer payment form their balance. Cash App will then contact the teen's parent or guardian for approval.

Last year, Alphabet’s DeepMind announced its AlphaFold 2 AI showed it could predict how certain proteins would fold in a way that was competitive with experimental data. The news was met with enthusiasm by the scientific community, but it wasn’t clear at the time what the breakthrough would mean in practical terms. Now we have a better idea with Alphabet announcing the creation of a new subsidiary called Isomorphic Labs.

The company states its goal is to “reimagine” the process of developing new drugs with an AI-first approach. “We believe that the foundational use of cutting edge computational and AI methods can help scientists take their work to the next level, and massively accelerate the drug discovery process,” Demis Hassabis, the founder and CEO of Isomorphic Labs said. Hassabis, who’s also the CEO of DeepMind, will serve as the chief executive of the startup while it builds out and hires additional employees.

Isomorphic Labs isn’t the first or only company to say it plans to streamline drug development with the help of AI. Since 2012, a startup out of the University of Toronto called Atomwise has had a similar vision. They’re both trying to address the problem of skyrocketing drug development costs. A recent 2020 study found that it costs on average $1.3 billion to create a new pharmaceutical. A lot of that has to do with the process itself. As things stand today, researchers physically synthesize each and every promising compound and then test to see if it’s safe for human use. And as they have tried to develop treatments for more complicated diseases, fewer drugs are passing human trials.

Riot Games is taking its PC titles into new territory as League of Legends, Valorant, Teamfight Tactics and Legends of Runeterra are all now available on the Epic Games Store. The move could get the four free-to-play titles in front of a wider audience.

You'll need to install the new Riot Client (which debuted earlier this month), but you can fire up the games from Epic's app or a desktop shortcut. If you already play any of those games, you'll still be able to sign in with your account and access your existing friends list.

The partnership between Riot and Epic extends to the latter's titles too. League of Legends champion Jinx is dropping into Fortnite, marking the first appearance of a LoL character in a non-Riot game.

The collaboration forms part of Riot's month-long campaign to promote Arcane, the League of Legends animated series that premieres at 10PM ET on November 6th on Netflix. Elsewhere, Riot has also teamed up with Amazon to offer Prime Gaming members some in-game goodies over the next year.

For as long as motorcycles have existed, enthusiasts have been upgrading their rides with new components. Taking that idea to the 21st century, the new 2022 SR from Zero Motorcycles allows you to push its capabilities with software updates instead. The motorcycle will ship with the company’s Cypher III+ operating system, which includes the Cypher Store. And if you plan to get the most out of the 2022 SR, you’ll need to spend money at the marketplace. Post-purchase “DLC” is something we’ve seen the automotive industry show increasing interest in recent years.

At first, the Cypher Store will offer a mix of performance and comfort upgrades. It will later expand to sell purchases that enable features like a park mode, heated grips and faster charging. How much you’ll need to pay for those extras will depend on the model you own.

Zero Motorcycles

In the case of the 2022 SR, it comes standard with a 14.4 kWh battery. You can upgrade its capacity to 15.6 kWh and then 17.3 kWh. In 2022, Zero Motorcycles will start selling an optional tank accessory that further increases the amount of power the motorcycle’s ZF 75-10 electric motor can access. With every possible upgrade, battery capacity increases to 20.9 kWh. At that point, Zero claims you can expect approximately 227 miles of range when driving in a city and about 113 miles at a more consistent 70 miles per hour clip. For charging, the 2022 SR features a standard J1772 connection, which even Tesla sells now.

By default, the 2022 SR’s motor outputs 122 lb-ft of torque and 74 horsepower. It can hit a top speed of 104 miles per hour. As you might have guessed, you can pay extra to unlock better performance from the motor. With a $1,795 in-app purchase, power output increases to 113 horsepower, allowing the 2022 SR to go as fast as 124 miles per hour.

The 2022 SR will start at $17,995 when it debuts at dealerships in the first quarter of 2022.

While nothing can truly match the real thing, a number of stationary bike companies have tried to replicate the outdoor riding experience. A startup called Muoverti is the latest to take a swing with its TiltBikes.

As the name suggests, the machine can swing from side to side while you're standing and you can lean to turn a virtual corner. "You can balance and steer, accelerate and brake and fully engage legs, core and upper body," a narrator notes in an announcement video.

The on-pedal feel is said to mirror the physical forces of a real bike, such as gravity, incline and inertia. The electromagnetic resistance is controlled by an algorithm that updates a thousand times per second. This, according to the company, enables simulations of factors including drafting, angular wind speed and rolling resistance in real time.

TiltBikes are compatible with training apps including Zwift, RGT and Trainer Road. What's more, there are built-in gaming controls, so you can connect the bike to an Xbox and perhaps squeeze in some Riders Republic as you're getting a workout. The bike can pair with a smartphone, tablet or PC via Bluetooth too.

Muoverti

The frame is swappable, you can switch it out if you have different handlebar or pedal preferences to someone you share a TiltBike with, or go from a time trial setup to a mountain bike one. You'll also be able to monitor your workouts through a companion app that tracks more than 20 stats in real time.

These aren't exactly the first tilting stationary bikes on the market. Bowflex's Velocore, for instance, can stay locked in place or switch to leaning mode. Alternatively, you can put a bike on rocker plates for that side-to-side motion.

It appears Muoverti's goal is to bring together elements from other bikes and to elevate the experience. As it stands, some features that serious cyclists will be looking for don't seem to be available, such as vertical climb simulation, so it might be a better fit for more casual riders. Still, with its stylish frames, TiltBikes look a bit more like actual bikes than rival models.

Muoverti hasn't announced pricing for TiltBikes as yet, though given that some configurations don't include a display, they could prove less expensive than some other models. The company plans to ship the stationary bikes in 2022, giving you some time to find a decent wind machine to get the full outdoor riding effect.

Muoverti