Sonos has sold home theater products for a long time, but the company has made the living room even more of a priority in recent years. It started with the Sonos Beam, a smaller and more affordable version of the flagship Playbar soundbar. And 2020’s new flagship, the Sonos Arc, was the company’s first soundbar capable of Dolby Atmos playback.

Today, the Beam is getting a major upgrade. The new, second-generation Beam goes on sale today for $449 and will be available on October 5th. That’s $50 more than before, in line with the other price increases Sonos announced last week. The good news is that the new Beam is more capable than its predecessor in a number of ways. We’ll have to review it before we can really say if it’s worth the extra $50, but there are a number of notable new features here.

The new Beam looks nearly identical to its predecessor, aside from a new perforated polycarbonate grille instead of the cloth front found on the original. It also has the same speaker components inside: a center tweeter, four woofers, and three passive bass radiators. What’s different is that the new processor inside the Beam is 40 percent faster, which opens up a lot of new audio formats.

Sonos

Most notably, the gen-two Beam supports Dolby Atmos, for movies, TV and music (the latter in a limited fashion, for now). Scott Fink, a product manager at Sonos who worked on the new Beam, says that the horsepower from the new CPU let the company increase the speaker arrays — not the specific speaker components, but, as Fink explains, “the set of software that coordinates the playback and interaction of all the speakers together in the soundbar.” The new Beam has five arrays, up from the three in the older model, and Fink said that the extras are dedicated to surround sound and height info.

All told, the Beam supports the same home theater audio formats as the Arc (including Dolby Atmos, Dolby Digital Plus, Multichannel PCM and more), which costs twice as much as the Beam. In addition to the increased processing power, the new Beam has HDMI eARC to facilitate these new formats. Sonos says the speaker should have improved dialog clarity thanks to the additional audio processing power, something that should make the currently-available speech enhancement feature work better than before.

The hardware also supports additional music formats, as well. The Beam (as well as the Arc) will soon support the Ultra HD and Dolby Atmos formats from Amazon Music. Some Sonos speakers have worked with a handful of HD music services for a while now, but this is the first time that a 3D music format will work with the company’s products. I asked if there were any plans to support Dolby Atmos on Apple Music, and unsurprisingly the company wasn’t willing to say yet. But, there shouldn’t be any technical reason, it’s just a matter of Sonos and Apple working together to get more Apple Music formats supported.

Sonos

As with other Sonos products, the new Beam connects to the company’s other speakers for multi-room playback; you can also use other Sonos speakers as surrounds. You can tune the speaker to your room to improve the sound using Trueplay, assuming you have an iOS device. The Beam also has far-field microphones so it can receive voice commands through either Alexa or the Google Assistant, but that’s not required (there’s a mic mute button right on top of the Beam, too). Like some other recent Sonos speakers, the new Beam has NFC to make setup even easier — playing your phone running the Sonos app near it will automatically connect it to your WiFi network.

Based on what Sonos has said so far, the new Beam is probably not a crucial upgrade for most, unless you’ve been itching to get Dolby Atmos into your setup without spending a ton of money. But given that the Beam is already the best-selling compact soundbar (according to NPD data), these upgrades should help it keep its lead over the competition — even with that $50 price hike.

You won't have to stick to Samsung's The Wall if you insist on a gigantic TV for your equally sprawling mansion. LG has introduced a Direct View LED (DVLED) Extreme Home Cinema line aimed squarely at "super-luxury" homes. It relies on the same basic concept of using millions of LED diodes (anywhere from 2 million to 33 million) to form a complete picture in customized shapes, but can scale to sizes that might even make Samsung blush — you can choose anything from a 'small' 81 inches to a room-dominating 325-inch setup.

You'll need to stick to a conventional 16:9 ratio if you want those extremes, but you can also opt for "UltraStretch" 32:9 arrangements if you want to watch multiple video sources at the same time (say, live sports featuring the teams you own). You'll have to spring for those 33 million diodes if you want an 8K picture, but you can make do with 4K or even 2K (both in single or dual configurations) if you're not quite so determined to impress your guests. A WebOS controller box provides smart TV functions.

LG is taking orders for these DVLED home sets now, but it won't shock you to hear that LG isn't listing prices when each system is a custom order. It's safe to say the costs won't be trivial. LG estimates the installation, warranty and support (including twice-a-year "health checks") are worth $30,000 — the actual set is bound to be much more. If that's too much, you might have to 'settle' for LG's $100,000 rollable OLED TV instead.

There are a number of autonomous boats under development, but we've seen few commercial self-driving ships plying waterways. Now, a company called Sea Machines has announced that it will send an autonomous, remotely commanded tugboat on a 1,000 nautical mile (1,150 mile) "Machine Odyssey" voyage around Denmark. 

The tug ("Nellie Bly") will have "full onboard vessel control managed by autonomous technology," but be operated under the authority of officers located in the US. The aim is to show "global companies that operate the fleets of cargo ships, tugs, ferries, and the many other types of commercial workboats that they can integrate autonomous technology into their vessel operations for a host of technology-driven benefits."

Sea Machines

The tug will be steered by Sea Machines' SM300 autonomous system equipped with long-range computer vision. It's a "sensor-to-propeller" system that employs "path-planning, obstacle avoidance replanning, vectored nautical chart data and dynamic domain perception" to control a voyage from start to finish. At the same time, it shows the remote human commanders information like live augmented overlays of the mission, vessel state, situational awareness, environmental data and "real-time vessel-born audio and video from the many streaming cameras."

It appears that the Nellie Bly will set sail ahead of Yara's crewless electric cargo ship that's supposed to launch by the end of 2021. That vessel will use a 7MWh battery and 900kW propulsion system to steam at 13 knots from Herøya to Brevik, Norway — a distance of around 13km (8 miles). Sea Machines' tug is built by the Dutch shipyard Damen and appears to be powered by a pair of outboard motors.

When Sea Machines' tugboat launches, you'll be able to follow it yourself as the voyage will be streamed 24/7, the company said. It's set to launch on October 1st from Germany.

Add Dying Light 2: Stay Human to the ranks of games slipping to next year. Techland has delayed the release of its humans-are-the-real-monsters zombie title to February 4th, 2022. The game is effectively "complete," according to studio chief Pawel Marchewka, but the team needs more time to "polish and optimize" the software.

Marchewka added both the media and influencers would get a "deeper look" at Dying Light 2 in October through hands-on time. There's also "exciting news" due later in September, the CEO said.

Those peeks might help with your buying decision, and the delay isn't surprising given the hurdles of remote game development during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, early access for the press and creators is cold comfort if you were hoping to play before 2021 was over. Your dreams of rebuilding society will still have to wait a couple of extra months, and that's on top of many previous setbacks.

Sony's true wireless earbuds are some of the best you can buy, if you're willing to pay premium prices. The latest WF-1000XM4 come in at $280, so they're not exactly budget-friendly. If you're willing to invest in the previous-generation buds, you can grab Sony's WF-1000XM3 wireless earbuds for only $150 during a Best Buy one-day flash sale. That's $80 off their original price and just about the lowest we've seen. Amazon's matching the sale price and actually comes in a couple dollars cheaper at $148.

These buds took the top spot in our best wireless earbuds guide when they came out in 2019, and they've recently been replaced by the XM4. The XM3 have excellent sound quality with booming bass that isn't overpowering, bright highs and overall solid performance across a bunch of genres. Their active noise-cancellation is stellar, blocking out most background noises, and they'll last about six hours with ANC turned on. We also like Sony's comprehensive companion app that lets you customize the buds' settings.

Our biggest gripe with the XM3 was is design. The buds themselves are bulkier than most and their charging case is, admittedly, huge. Sony tried to fix this with the XM4, and it succeeded in doing so more with the charging case than with the earbuds. The latest buds remain on the larger side, although they have a more modern design, and the wireless charging case 40 percent smaller than that of the XM3. Sony also improved upon the ANC in the XM4 and increased the battery life to eight hours with ANC turned on. Those changes were enough to push the XM4 to the top spot on our favorites list, but you'll pay $280 to get all of that new tech.

Best Buy's flash sale has a few more gems to consider. Lenovo's original Smart Clock is on sale for $35, or $45 off its normal price. It's a good option for Google Assistant users who want a small, subtle smart display that works well as an alarm clock. It earned a score of 87 from us for its charming design, sunrise alarm feature and lack of camera, the latter of which will be attractive to the most privacy-conscious among us. The sale also includes the AeroGarden Elite Slim for $100, which is $80 off and one of the best prices we've seen it. If you want to try your hand at indoor gardening, AeroGarden's devices are one of the best ways to do so. It can grow up to six plants at once and won't take up too much space on a countertop.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

TikTok is adding new warnings to its in-app search that will alert users when results may include “distressing content.” The app has employed “sensitive content” warnings on individual videos since last year, but the updated alerts will appear in search results for terms that could include such content.

In a blog post, TikTok uses the example of “scary makeup” as a search term that may prompt such a warning. The company notes that users will be able to click through the warning to view results anyway, and that individual videos deemed “graphic or distressing” are ineligible from the app’s recommendations.

TikTok is also changing up search results to provide more resources on searches related to suicide and self harm, the company said. In addition to surfacing links to reach helplines like the Crisis text Line, the app will also point users to “content from our creators where they share their personal experiences with mental well-being, information on where to seek support and advice on how to talk to loved ones about these issues.”

TikTok

The app has at times struggled to deal with content related to self harm. Last year, a video of a suicide, originally streamed to Facebook Live, went viral on TikTok as the company scrambled to take down new copies. But even as users came up with workarounds to skirt TikTok’s detection, other creators posted viral clips urging users not to engage with the content. That suggests that TikTok’s plan to rely on creators to share positive PSAs could be an effective strategy for the company.

In the U.S., the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Crisis Text Line can be reached by texting HOME to 741741 (US), 686868 (Canada), or 85258 (UK). TikTok has published a list of resources for other countries.

Apologies in advance to Android phone owners, as it’s new iPhone day. Yes, Apple’s biggest showcase of the year kicks off at 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT / 6 PM BST. Once again, the company is streaming the event, and the Engadget team will be breaking down all the new device announcements.

There have been plenty of rumors on what Apple has up its sleeve, and naturally, we’ve corralled the most reliable whispers here. Expect a new family of (possibly) four iPhones, an updated Apple Watch, more news on iOS 15 and possibly new AirPods and iPads.

After the big event, join Reviews Editor Cherlynn Low and myself as we break down all announcements, complain about the lack of USB-C and laugh at whatever cringe moment occurs during Apple’s highly produced event. Join us after Apple right here!

— Mat Smith

Nintendo significantly cuts Switch price in Europe

You can now pick one up for £260 (€270) instead of the previous £280 (€330).

Engadget

Nintendo has officially lowered the suggested retail price of the base Switch model in Europe, but there’s been no change elsewhere. It's now available for £260 in the UK or €300 (down to €270 in France) elsewhere in Europe, rather than the previous £280 (€330).

In a comment to Eurogamer, Nintendo said: “After carefully weighing up a variety of factors, including currency exchange rates in Europe and the upcoming launch of Nintendo Switch - OLED Model, we decided that now was the appropriate time to change the European trade price of Nintendo Switch.”

Continue reading.

'Deathloop' is an exhilarating, innovative, time-bending mess

The briefly PlayStation exclusive from the now-Microsoft owned studio.

Engadget

Unsurprisingly, there’s a fair amount of dying in Deathloop. Dying is a core mechanic of the game, and it’s the first thing players actually do in the campaign, called Break the Loop. According to Senior Editor Jessica Conditt, Deathloop feels a lot like Dishonored (of course — same studio), with a chaser of We Happy Few.

Environments are easy to scale, but the true challenge is breaking the “loop” by killing eight bosses in a single day, in a single sweep. Fail: you die and have to begin all over again.

Continue reading.

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak's latest moonshot is a space company

We’ll hear more about Privateer Space later this week.

Reuters

Steve Wozniak has started a company called Privateer Space. The Apple co-founder announced the private space firm on late Sunday. Unfortunately, other than to promise his company would be “unlike the others,” Woz didn’t provide many details on the venture. The startup was co-founded by former Apple engineer Alex Fielding. Wozniak and Fielding have collaborated frequently over the years.

Continue reading.

Facebook's program for VIPs allows politicians and celebs to break its rules, report says

The 'cross check' system was created to avoid 'PR fires,' according to the report.

Facebook has used a little-known VIP program that’s enabled millions of high-profile users to skirt its rules for years, according to a new report in The Wall Street Journal.

The program, called XCheck or cross-check, was created to avoid “PR fires,” the public backlash that occurs when Facebook made mistakes affecting a high-profile user’s account. If one of these accounts broke its rules, the violation went to a separate team for review by Facebook employees, rather than its non-employee moderators.

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Apple Watch now syncs with Tempo's AI-powered home gym

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Canon has officially unveiled the EOS R3, its flagship mirrorless camera designed for sports, action and wildlife photography. With the release, it has now filled in the blanks for key specifications not yet revealed in earlier teases, like resolution, ISO range and video capabilities. 

The EOS R3 was never likely to be a high-resolution camera as some folks hoped, but the 24.1-megapixel, back-side illuminated (BSI), stacked sensor (a first for Canon) is a significant upgrade over the 1DX Mark III's 20-megapixel sensor. Canon says it "achieves resolution performance exceeding that of the 30.1-megapixel EOS 5D Mark IV," despite having a lower pixel count.

With the BSI/stacked sensor and latest DIGIC X image processor, the R3 can shoot at 30 fps in electronic shutter mode (down to 1/64,000th of a second) or 12 fps with the mechanical shutter, with full AF tracking and auto-exposure. Better still, it offers blackout-free shooting in electronic mode and the high readout speeds deliver minimal rolling shutter distortion — making it feasible to shoot sports or action with the electronic shutter. 

Canon

The EOS R3 is Canon's first EOS model to support flash photography in electronic shutter mode. That allows for blackout-free flash shooting at up to 15 fps (at 1/180th of a second), which would probably look pretty wild in person. It also offers a silent shutter mode that turns off the artificial shutter and AF acquisition sounds. 

The EOS R3 has a number of new autofocus features, too. The flashiest is Eye Control AF that locks onto focus wherever your eye is looking when you half-press the shutter button. It can be used in combination with flexible zone and subject AF tracking, so it's "possible to quickly shift the target between multiple subjects," Canon says. It notes that the feature can be calibrated differently if you have glasses or contacts, and that "some glasses/contacts may prevent calibration."

Faster calculation speeds give the EOS R3 some new autofocus powers, too. The Dual Pixel AF system can now track in spot, single-point and flexible zone AF, and in lower light (-7.5 EV) than any other model. It can also acquire a subject just by getting close to it, so it will track an animal or human's head, face or eye if you place the AF point near their body, for example. 

Canon

On top of body, face, head and eye detection for humans, the R3 offers a new "Vehicle Priority" tracking system for open cockpit, GT and rally cars, along with on-road and off-road motorcycles. If the AI detects a helmet (on a motorcycle or open cockpit car), it will automatically lock onto that.

The new sensor delivers improved low-light performance too, with the EOS R3 having a normal range of ISO 100-102,400 for stills (expandable to ISO 50-204,800). Canon also promises improved automatic and manual white balance via new AI skills.

The 5-axis in-body stabilizer is the the same as the excellent system on the EOS R5 and R6. As with those models, it delivers up to 8 stops of stabilization with compatible lenses, down to a minimum of 6 stops (still beating most other brands) with other lenses. It also comes with dual card slots, supporting SD and CFexpress type B cards.

The R3 comes with a new 5.76 million dot, 120 FPS OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) developed by Canon. This is a key feature for the sports photographers who might buy it, as many haven't switched to mirrorless because they prefer an optical viewfinder. Canon said it provides a level of clarity and field of view similar to an optical viewfinder "thanks to the HDR technology and high brightness performance." Like the R6 and R5, it also offers a fully-articulating, 4.15 million dot flip-out touchscreen — ideal for video shooters. 

Canon

In fact, the R3 is also a highly competent video camera, too. While it can't shoot 8K video like the R5, it can capture RAW 12-bit 6K widescreen (6,000 x 3,164) video at up to 60 fps to a CFexpress B card, besting Panasonic's video-centric S1H. Canon has yet to say if 6K RAW over HDMI will be supported, however.

It also offers 4K recording at up to 120 fps, albeit in a cropped 1:1 pixel mode to a CFexpress card. Still, you can capture 4K 60p or 30p video using the full width of the sensor, which should make for some crisp video. Again, for the best quality, you'll need a fast SD UHS II or CFexpress card. 10-bit 4:2:2 video will be available for all 4K modes in either HDR PQ or Canon Log 3 modes, with both All-I and long-GOP file options. 

As usual with Canon cameras, the Dual Pixel autofocus should be a strong point for video, as it can lock in to a subject quickly without any hunting. As it stands now, however, the Eye Tracking feature only works for photography, not video. Still, the extra tracking features should make it extra powerful in terms of video autofocus, but we'll need to test the R3 to verify that. As you'd well expect, it has microphone, headphone and HDMI ports — though the latter is a micro and not a full-sized HDMI connector, unfortunately.

Canon

What about heating, the bugbear of the R5? Again, Canon has significantly improved the R3 here. It now offers two temperature options for auto power off: standard and high. The latter will let you shoot 6K RAW or 4K All-I at 60 fps for 60 minutes or more, though the camera might get a bit hot to the touch. 4K 120p All-I is limited to 12 minutes in either mode. Canon promises that you'll be ready to shoot again after just five minutes, though shooting times afterward will be limited in 6K 60p and 4K 120p modes. Normal 4K 30fps shooting (down-sampled or otherwise) has no heat limitations. 

Other features include network streaming functions and wired or wireless transfer to a 5G or LTE smartphone. It uses the 1DX Mark III's LP-E19 battery that delivers 440 shots with the electronic viewfinder and comes with a new electronic hot shoe that supports more accessories, including a smartphone link adapter. Finally, the EOS R1 offers dust and drip resistance equal to the EOS-1DX series DSLRs, and weighs in at 1015 grams (2.24 pounds) including a memory card and battery.

Canon

Along with the EOS R3, Canon unveiled two new lenses, the compact RF16mm F/2.8 STM ultra wide angle model priced at $300 (left) and the RF100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM model priced at $650. Both of those should be decent budget full-frame RF-mount options if you're looking for an ultra wide-angle or tele zoom lens. 

With the EOS R3, Canon has built a supercharged flagship that should appeal to both the serious photographers and videographers who have the bucks to afford one. It arrives at the end of November for $6,000 (body only). 

Amazon has been using its palm-scanning technology to allow customers to pay for purchases at Whole Foods and its own cashierless stores. Now, it's expanding the technology's availability for use outside its own properties, starting by allowing people entering sports, music and other live entertainment venues without the need for a ticket. Amazon One will be offered as part of standalone ticketing pedestals to be deployed by ticketing company AXS, which will will debut at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver today.

To enter venues via Amazon One, attendees can enroll one or both palms for the option at a dedicated station just before they enter. Doing so will enable them to enter the event, and future AXS events, without the need to show a ticket. Amazon says the enrollment process only takes a minute, during with the system creates a unique palm signature using the company's custom-built algorithms. Once that's done, they can then simply scan their palms, which takes a couple of seconds, to enter an AXS venue.

In its announcement, Amazon said it's the "first time the Amazon One service is available outside Amazon and Whole Foods Market stores and for entry into an entertainment venue." It also sounds like the company is looking to make the palm-scanning tech available for other purposes in more locations. "[We're] excited about the potential for expansion to other locations where entry lines can be long and time consuming," it added. Since there's an increasing demand for contactless solutions due to the pandemic —the technology only needs users to hover their palms over a sensor — that may happen sooner than later.

The Korea Fair Trade Commission has imposed a $177 million fine on Google, accusing the tech giant of using its dominant position in the market to hamper the development of Android rivals. According to Yonhap News, Korea's antitrust regulator has decided that the anti-fragmentation agreement (AFA) Google makes manufacturers sign in exchange for using its Android operating system hampers competition. 

The agreement prevents phone manufacturers, including Korean companies Samsung and LG, from creating and installing their own versions of the Android OS (or Android forks) on their devices. Yonhap News says the commission has been looking into whether the agreement stifles competition since 2016. In addition to slapping Google with a fine, the commission has also banned the company from forcing manufacturers to sign AFAs going forward and to modify existing ones. 

In a statement sent to Bloomberg and CNBC, the tech giant argued that Android and its compatibility program sped up innovation and improved user experience, benefiting companies that include Korean manufacturers. "The KFTC's decision released today ignores these benefits, and will undermine the advantages enjoyed by consumers. Google intends to appeal the KFTC's decision," the spokesperson said.

The KFTC has revealed its decision on the same day Korea's amendment to the country's Telecommunications Business Act went live. That amendment adds a law that will require Google and Apple to allow third-party payments for the applications on their App Stores.