You won't have to wait until November 19th to learn whether or not Battlefield 2042 is any good. DICE and EA have revealed the open beta for the massive-scale team shooter will take place between October 8th and October 9th. As is sometimes the case with blockbusters like this, pre-order customers and EA Play members can start playing early, on October 6th.

The beta is limited to the classic Conquest mode on a single map, Orbital (the one from the trailer, pictured above). You can choose from one of four Specialists (read: player classes). The game supports as many as 128 players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, but you'll be limited to 'just' 64 players on PS4 or Xbox One.

A two-day public test isn't exactly extensive. It might give you a feel for the game, though, and could help you decide whether or not it's worth $60 (on PC and older consoles) or $70 (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S). If nothing else, this suggests the developers are confident enough in the game to give everyone a brief sample.

Netflix is expanding its library of mobile games, but they're still only available in a few countries for now. Subscribers in Spain and Italy can now play the Android titles, following an initial rollout in Poland.

While the first couple of games Netflix added were based on one of its top series, Stranger Things, the latest ones have nothing at all to do with its shows or movies. Instead, Shooting Hoops, Teeter Up and Card Blast are casual titles with broader appeal in mind, as TechCrunch notes. They're part of an effort by Netflix to keep growing in other areas of entertainment beyond streaming.

If you're in one of those three countries, you'll see a Games tab in the Netflix Android app. When you tap on a game, you'll be taken to its Google Play Store listing. You can download the game and sign in using your Netflix credentials. The games don't have any ads or in-app purchases. The new titles are now live in all three countries, while folks in Spain and Italy have gained access to Stranger Things 1984 and Stranger Things 3.

Netflix has made it clear in recent months that it sees games as a key part of its future. The company said in July it would focus on mobile gaming to start with. Netflix added the Stranger Things games to its app in Poland in August.

Volvo and Aurora are one step closer to putting autonomous semi trucks on North American roads. The two have revealed a prototype self-driving semi truck meant for "long-haul" trips in North America, not just quick hops as with past vehicles. The variant of Volvo's VNL looks familiar, but packs a wide array of sensors to detect the surrounding environment and navigate on its own using the virtual Aurora Driver.

The automaker was shy on technical details, but said the big rig expanded on existing VNL safety features like Volvo Dynamic Steering and automated transmission to create a "redundant" system. This truck might not run into much trouble on the highway, in other words. The companies previously said they hoped for Level 4 autonomy, or completely human-free driving in limited situations.

Volvo has already put autonomous trucks into service in countries like Norway and its Swedish homeland. However, they've generally been limited to short, narrowly defined routes. In theory, the new prototype could handle the longer distances and varied conditions necessary to shuttle payloads between North American cities.

Volvo didn't say when it expected the prototype to reach public roads, let alone when you might see a production truck. The company would also need regulations allowing commercial self-driving trucks, not just the testing you see in some states. This is an important step toward Volvo's driverless trucking goal, but far from the last step.

Following 2020's flagship noise-cancelling EAH-AZ70W earbuds, Technics returns in 2021 with two new models. Today, the Panasonic-owned brand is debuting the EAH-AZ60 and EAH-AZ40 with similar designs and spec sheets. The key difference being the pricier AZ60 offers active noise cancellation (ANC) while the AZ40 doesn't. 

In addition to ANC, the AZ60 also supports LDAC: Sony's wireless audio standard that offers higher quality sound over regular Bluetooth (AAC). Inside, the AZ60 has slightly larger drivers — 8mm vs. 6mm — which is likely part of the reason they're two grams heavier. Besides those items, Technics' new models share a lot of similarities. The overall aesthetic is nearly identical, right down to the IPX4 construction. However, it's not the premium look the AZ70W offers. Both options employ JustMyVoice tech, which Technics says provides "crystal clear" calls by detecting your voice and reducing background noise. The company explains the AZ60 has four mics on each earbud to help with this, but it didn't specify how many the AZ40 uses. 

Technics

The AZ60 and AZ40 are equipped with additional sound modes to suit different listening environments. The Natural Ambient mode allows you to listen to "all surrounding noise" while the Attention mode is configured to capture the frequency range of voices. In theory, this should primarily pick up a chatty co-worker or airport announcements, but without testing we can't say for certain how well this works. 

Battery life varies a bit between the two models due to ANC and LDAC support on the AZ60. That set of earbuds will last up to four and half hours with noise cancelling and LDAC. Opt for lower-res streaming and you can increase battery life by 2.5 hours. Technics says disabling ANC in either scenario will give you an additional 30 minutes of listening time. When you factor in the case, the AZ60 can go for up to 25 hours with ANC and LDAC both disabled when you really need to stretch things. The AZ40, on the other hand, will last up to seven and a half hours with 25 total hours when you factor in the case. Those are the same figures as the AZ60 with noise cancellation and LDAC off. Both models have a quick-charge feature that will give you between 45 and 90 minutes of use in 15 minutes, depending on your sound settings.

The EAH-AZ60 and EAH-AZ40 will be available in October for $199.99 and $129.99 respectively. The AZ60 will only be available in black and silver, but the AZ40 will come in a rose gold option in addition to those two hues. Both models clock in less than the AZ70W, which was $250 when it debuted last year. 

Yamaha may not be one of the first names that comes to mind when discussing earbuds or headphones. But the company has a number of models under its belt, ranging from affordable to premium and pricey. Following its TW-E3A true wireless earbuds, Yamaha has announced the TW-E3B: a set that it describes as its smallest and lightest option yet. 

While that may be true, based on the product images, the TW-E3B still has considerable size compared to the truly tiny options like Jabra's Elite 3 and Samsung's Galaxy Buds 2. Nevertheless, they're 25 percent smaller than the TW-E3A, which is an improvement. Besides the size, debossed logos and charging indicator lights on the case, the overall look of the new model is quite similar to that of it's predecessor. There are more color options available on the E3B, but overall, Yamaha didn't opt for a complete redesign here. 

Yamaha

Battery life is the same: six hours on the buds with three additional charges in the case for 24 hours total. The new version is still IPX5 rated for water and sweat resistance while on-board controls return to assist with audio playback, calls and activating your chose voice assistant. Yamaha brought back Listening Care, a feature that the company says will still give you "full-range sound" at lower volumes to help preserve your hearing. Like the TW-E3A, the TW-E3B works with Yamaha's app for Android and iOS that gives you a degree of customization for certain settings. 

The TW-E3B will be available in late October for $99.95 — $30 less than the TW-E3A's debut price. When it arrives, you'll be able to choose from black, grey, green, blue, pink and purple color options. The TW-E3A is still available at a discount, going for $49.95. That's less than half of the original asking price of $129.95.

IKEA and Sonos will release a new, more customizable version of their Symfonisk speaker lamp on October 12th. The furniture giant will sell the new model's lamp base and shade separately, allowing you to mix and match parts to ensure the final product fits the vibe of your home. You can choose between a black or a white lamp base, which the companies had designed to be slightly smaller than its predecessor. Stjepan Begic, product owner at IKEA of Sweden, said they decided to make make the base smaller after finding out that a lot of people use the Symfonisk lamp on their nightstand. 

You can also choose between two types of shades: textile or glass. Both are available in black and white, as well. In addition, this model supports a wider range of bulbs thanks to its added E26/E27 socket, whereas the previous generation only fits E12 (E14 in the UK) bulbs. When it comes to the speaker itself, Sara Morris, Principal Product Manager at Sonos, said it provides a "wider and more room-filling sound."

The companies launched the first Symfonisk products back in 2019, giving you the chance to purchase Sonos-level quality speakers without the Sonos-level price. These new lamps are priced similarly to the previously generation, which originally sold for $179. The base, which houses the WiFi-connected speaker itself, will set you back $152, confirming previous reports about the then-unannounced product. A textile cover will cost you $24, while a glass one will set you back $35. In all, you'll be paying $169 for a lamp with a textile shade and $179 for one with glass.

The new Symfonisk lamp will be available in IKEA's brick-and-mortar stores and online in the US and select European markets when it launches in October. It will eventually make its way to all of IKEA's markets next year.

Ikea

Amazon announced new Fire HD 10 tablets at the end of last month and now it seems the company is trying to get rid of previous models in a one-day closeout sale. The main device is the 64GB, 2019 Fire HD 10, which is nearly half off at $96. That's even better than its Prime Day price of $100 that we saw back in June, and considering the 2021 version of the tablet isn't too different, this is a good way to get one of the most capable Fire tablets for less.

The 2019 model and the latest Fire HD 10 have a lot in common: both have 10.1-inch 1080p touchscreens, although the new version's is 10 percent brighter, and both run on 2.0GHz octa-core processors. The max amount of built-in storage you can get on either is 64GB, but both can be expanded with a microSD card slot. The 2019 version can hold up to 512GB of storage while the new model has a 1TB capacity. Both also have a 12-hour estimated battery life and both charge via USB-C.

Arguably the biggest differences between the two are in design and RAM. The 2021 model has a slightly more refined design with thinner bezels, and it comes in new colors as well as configurations like the "Productivity bundle," which includes one year of Microsoft 365 and a keyboard case. Also, the previous version had 2GB of RAM while the new model has 3GB. 

The increased RAM will likely make the biggest difference in the overall experience of the new Fire HD 10 compared to its predecessor. But if you're willing to skip that extra gigabyte of memory and the other small upgrades, the 2019 Fire HD 10 remains a solid budget tablet.

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It's been quite a long time coming, but Xbox Series X/S consoles now support Dolby Vision for gaming. More than 100 Dolby Vision HDR-optimized titles are available or are coming soon, including Halo Infinite. Microsoft says thousands of other games will get a HDR10 or Auto HDR picture quality boost thanks to Dolby Vision.

To get the full experience, you'll need a Dolby Vision-capable TV with gaming settings like automatic low-latency mode and variable refresh rate switched on. According to Microsoft, depending on your display's capabilities, you'll get up to 40 times brighter highlights, 10 times deeper levels of black and up to 12 bits of color depth. Dolby Vision can work in concert with other features such as ray-tracing.

Dolby and Xbox are collaborating with developers to help them get the most out of Dolby Vision. They're also working with TV makers on firmware updates to support Dolby Vision at 120 Hz.

Microsoft started public tests of Dolby Vision on the consoles in March. There were suggestions this past spring that Xbox had Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos console exclusivity, but that's not the case. Still, Xbox Series X/S consoles are the only ones with Dolby Vision support for now.

When it comes to affordable wireless earbuds and headphones, Skullcandy cranks out new models at a rapid pace. The company is well-known for its collection of true wireless and noise-cancelling gear that offers solid performance for much less than a lot of the competition. Today, Skullcandy is announcing two more sets of true wireless earbuds — the Grind Fuel and the Push Active — both of which offer a compelling set of features starting at $80. The company is also debuting its own voice platform, Skull-IQ, that allows you to do much of what your phone's voice assistant can handle, but with more of an audio focus. Get ready to say "Hey Skullcandy" a lot. 

With Skull-IQ, Skullcandy has built a voice platform specifically catered to controlling music and its earbuds — and presumably its future headphones. In addition to a new command, you'll have the ability to play/pause, skip tracks, adjust volume, answer/reject calls, activate Stay Aware mode (ambient sound) and summon your device's built-in assistant. The company says it has also cooked up something novel. Skullcandy explains that it's the first to offer access to Spotify via voice command. Plenty of other companies give you one-tap ability to launch the service (these do that as well), but Skullcandy says it's the first to allow you to do it by speaking. Lastly, the company promises more features are coming in the future via over-the-air updates through the Skullcandy app.

Skullcandy

In terms of the new earbuds, some specs are the same for both models. Obviously, there are design differences as the Grind Fuel is a more "traditional" true wireless earbud while the Push Active is an over-the-ear hook option for a more secure fit. However, both feature the new Skull-IQ voice setup as well as "supreme sound," that Stay Aware mode and what Skullcandy describes as noise-reducing mics for calls. The two new models are both IP55 rated sweat and water resistant with Tile tracking tech built-in. They are also both equipped with on-board controls and a quick-charge feature that will give you two hours of listening time after 10 minutes in the case. 

The Grind Fuel offers a few things the Push Active doesn't. Wireless charging and personalized sound via an in-app audio test are the two main ones. The Grind Fuel also has 9 hours of battery life on the buds with another 31 hours in the case. The Push Active will last 10 hours on a charge, while the case packs 34 more hours. Battery life isn't quite the same for both, but it's pretty close. 

The Push Active will cost $79.99 while the Grind Fuel is $99.99. Both are available now from the Skullcandy website and other retailers. 

Samsung wants you to increase your freezer's temperature to lower our collective carbon footprint, and it has enlisted Vanilla Ice's help to convince you. The rapper has re-released his 1990 hit song Ice Ice Baby as Reduce Your Ice, Ice Baby, both to call on everyone to adjust their freezer's temp and to promote its new Bespoke Refrigerator range. "Turn down the freeze, and I'll glow. Jus' one degree, I raise the temp like a vandal, climate friendly, wax a chump like a candle," Vanilla Ice raps in the song. 

Based on a study the tech giant conducted using European Commission data, if every household in Europe alone increases its freezer's temperature by one degree Celsius, it could lower humanity's carbon emissions by over a million tons annually. The company says that's equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide emitting by over 217,000 passenger vehicles being driven for an entire year. That's also equivalent to the yearly energy usage of over 120,000 homes combined. While it's hoping to convince you to adjust your freezer's temperature a bit, it does have a recommended minimum setting of -17 degrees Celsius or 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for the fridge Samsung is promoting, the new Bespoke Refrigerator has a modular design with interchangeable panels in 14 different colors and a range of finishes. The company says it could help reduce waste, because you'll be able to upgrade the fridge in the future instead of replacing it completely. You can see the fridge in Vanilla Ice's '90s style music video for Reduce Your Ice, Ice Baby below.