You have one last chance to try Android 12 before its official debut. Google has released the fifth and final beta for Pixel phones (including the Pixel 5a) and several third-party devices, giving you one more look before the finished version arrives. Beta 5 is a release candidate build with the usual last-minute fixes and performance improvements, so don't expect major changes from beta 4 or even beta 3.

The completed software is due sometime in the "weeks ahead," Google said. If history is any indication, only Pixel owners will get Android 12 first — you'll have to wait for third parties to customize and deploy their releases in the months to come.

The Material You design scheme remains the most conspicuous change in Android 12, including an overall interface refresh, more fluid animations as well as color themes that adapt to your wallpaper. You'll also see more privacy features, including a dedicated Privacy Dashboard as well as toggles and in-use indicators for cameras and microphones.

There are subtler under-the-hood improvements, too, such as camera-based auto-rotation and an on-device search engine that helps find content within your apps. This isn't a gigantic leap in some respects, but it could help revitalize Android if you've felt that previous releases were a little stale.

After 15 years, Twitter is getting dedicated features for groups. The company is now starting to test Communities, “a more intimate space for conversations” on the platform.

Communities, which the company first teased back in February, are sort of like Twitter’s version of a subreddit or a public-facing group on Facebook. Communities are dedicated to specific topics, and members can post tweets to a dedicated group timeline. Each community has its own moderators who set rules for the group, and users must be invited by an existing member or moderator to participate.

The feature is meant to address what’s been a long-running issue for the platform: that it can be incredibly difficult for new users to wade through the noise and find the corner of Twitter that speaks to their interests. The company has tried to address this with Topics, which injects tweets into your timeline based on your interests, but Communities takes the idea a step further.

Twitter

Twitter notes that some of its first Communities will focus on popular topics like skincare, astrology, sneakers and dogs, but that over time it expects the groups to reflect the more “niche discussions” that happen on the platform. For now, Twitter is starting with just a handful of Communities, though moderators and members are able to invite anyone to join. The company says it plans to open up the feature for more users to create Communities in the “coming months.”

Notably, Twitter seems to be trying to avoid some of the issues that have plagued Facebook’s Groups. All Communities are publicly accessible and viewable by anyone on the platform —there’s no such thing as a private or “secret” Community — though only members can participate in the discussion directly. Like Reddit and Facebook, Twitter will also rely on admins and moderators to steer the day-to-day conversations and keep members in check. The company is also working on new reporting and detection features to weed out “potentially problematic” groups that may spring up.

Though the company is calling the feature a test, Twitter seems to be quite serious about its potential. Communities is getting its own tab in the center of Twitter’s app, between explore and notifications, which suggests the company plans for Communities to be a prominent feature of its platform for the long term.

On Wednesday, security researchers from Google and cybersecurity firm Mandiant disclosed that a network of fake pro-China social media accounts tried to mobilize Americans to attend anti-racism protests in response to the coronavirus pandemic. According to a report the two organizations published, the network “did not appear to achieve any success,” but in one instance it tried to push Asian-Americans to attend an April 24th protest that sought to “fight back” against claims the virus was engineered in a Chinese lab.

They did not directly attribute the campaign to the Chinese government. However, John Hultquist, vice president of analysis at Mandiant, told The Wall Street Journal the operation was “almost certainly supported by a government sponsor, either directly through a government agency or a third-party contractor.” Additionally, the scale of the campaign suggests the network had significant resources at its disposal.

Researchers say the campaign may suggest an intention to motivate real-world action outside of the borders of China. At the very least, the scope of the activity is far broader than previous efforts this network has conducted. In 2019, it was linked to efforts to discredit the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

This time around, they did not limit their efforts merely to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Instead, they cast a wide net, creating accounts across more than 30 social media platforms and 40 additional websites and “niche” forums, including places like LiveJournal and Vimeo. They also tried to reach a global audience by posting in Russian, German, Spanish, Korean and Japanese, in addition to Chinese and English.

"Over the past two years, we have seen this threat actor evolve, from the types of content they publish to the tactics they use to amplify it. However, the most significant features of this network remain its scale and persistence, in spite of low engagement levels,” Shane Huntley, the director of Google’s Threat Analysis Group, told Engadget. “... We anticipate they will continue to experiment to drive higher engagement and encourage others in the community to continue tracking this actor, shedding light on their operations and taking action against them."

Sony has added another developer to its growing stable at PlayStation Studios. Firesprite, which is behind The Playroom and The Playroom VR, has become the company's 14th studio.

"Firesprite is a creative and ambitious studio that is exceptional at building incredible experiences that truly showcase the potential of our hardware," PlayStation Studios chief Hermen Hulst wrote in a blog post. "The team’s technical and creative capabilities will be paramount to growing our stellar catalogue of exclusive games, and I think you’ll be excited for what’s to come."

Several developers will be returning to Sony as part of the deal. Hulst noted that "quite a few members of Firesprite," including all of the founding team, came from Wipeout developer Studio Liverpool. Sony bought that studio in 1993, when it was known as Psygnosis, but shut it down in 2012.

Sony and Firesprite have been working together more or less since the latter was formed that same year. Firssprite teamed up with Team Asobi on The Playroom, a 2013 collection of augmented reality minigames designed to show off the PlayStation Camera's capabilities. Its most recent game is The Persistence, a survival horror title that hit consoles and PC last year after debuting on PlayStation VR.

The Firesprite team is working on something new, but it's not entirely clear what. Other than The Playroom and Vita and mobile title Run Sackboy! Run!, all of the studio's games have had a virtual reality aspect. Given Hulst's comments and that Sony's working on a second-gen PS VR headset, it wouldn't be a huge surprise to learn Firesprite's next game is for that platform.

If you’re in the market for a baby monitor, now would be a good time to snap up a Eufy Spaceview set. The company has discounted its popular single-camera kit to $125 — just clip the on-page coupon for $15 off and use the code eufybbm20 at checkout to get the sale price.

That’ll get you the 720p HD camera plus the 5-inch 720p display. The camera has night vision and can pan 330 degrees and tilt 110 degrees so you can see your entire nursery. The default field of view is 50 degrees, but the kit comes with an additional 110-degree lens that you can install when your little one starts exploring.

While the SpaceView camera doesn’t support WiFi, that’s not a bad thing. Instead, it uses a FHSS connection to let you check out your kiddo’s activities securely in real-time, regardless of if your home’s internet is a bit spotty. The set-up supports a range of up to 1,000 feet so you can check in on them from anywhere in the house, and the 2,900mAh battery runs for 15-hours so the display won’t run out of juice overnight. It will also provide you with sound alerts and two way audio, and since it’s not connected to WiFi, you don’t have to worry about anyone hacking into it.

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

A month before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down much of the West in March 2020, Amazon pledged to remove products that claimed to cure the coronavirus. However, items that promote misinformation about COVID-19 and vaccines are still appearing in search results on the Amazon storefront, according to Senator Elizabeth Warren.

The senator's staff found that searches for terms including “COVID-19,” “COVID,” “vaccine,” “COVID-19 vaccine” and “pandemic” led to results such as books peddling "falsehoods about COVID-19 vaccines and cures," including at least one that Amazon tagged as a best seller. Engadget was able to replicate some of the search results Warren flagged.

In a letter to Amazon CEO Andy Jassy, which was spotted by CNBC, Warren urged the company to review Amazon's algorithms. She called on Jassy to, within 14 days, detail a plan to modify the algorithms so they no longer turn up products that include COVID-19 misinformation, and to release a public report on "the extent to which Amazon’s algorithms are directing consumers" to such items at the moment.

In addition, Warren sought clarification on Amazon's current policies about those products and what the company has done to tackle the spread of false information. She also wants to know more details about the best-seller tag, and why books containing COVID-19 misinformation are being awarded the label.

Warren acknowledged that Amazon has provided its users with resources for accurate information about COVID-19, including prominent links to the Food and Drug Administration website. Her staff see any instances of Amazon displaying sponsored search results for pandemic-related terms either. However, she said her team's findings were otherwise "deeply troubling."

“As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, Amazon is feeding misinformation loops through its search and ‘Best Seller’ algorithms, potentially leading countless Americans to risk their health and the health of their neighbors based on misleading and inaccurate information that they discover on Amazon’s website," Warren wrote. Engadget has contacted Amazon for comment.

Every major online platform has struggled to keep a lid on COVID-19 misinformation. Most have prohibited users from peddling mistruths and suspended or banned many accounts that broke the rules.

NASA's long-delayed James Webb Space Telescope is close to entering service. The agency now plans to launch the telescope on December 18th, 2021, just a few months after testing completed in late August. The hardware will reach orbit aboard an ESA-supplied Ariane 5 rocket lifting off from French Guiana. NASA still has to ship the telescope to the launchpad, although much of the rocket has already arrived. 

The JWST was deemed complete in 2016 ahead of an expected 2018 launch, but faced a number of delays due to its elaborate construction. It wasn't assembled until 2019, and factors like the COVID-19 pandemic further hindered NASA's efforts. That's not including earlier setbacks — development started in 1996 with an expected 2007 deployment, but the team scrapped much of its work and redesigned the equipment in 2005.

The telescope's importance hasn't changed. It's considered the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope. It includes a much larger mirror along with a focus on lower-frequency observations (particularly mid-infrared) that will help it detect early galaxies that even Hubble can't find. That priority also helps explain some of its technical challenges. The JWST's instruments will need to stay extremely cold (-370F) to avoid interference with infrared measurements, requiring both a large sunshield and an insertion near a Sun-Earth Lagrange point.

The mission will be relatively short. As the JWST needs propellant to maintain orbit, it can't last indefinitely like a telescope circling Earth. NASA would consider a five-year lifespan "nominal," although it's hoping for 10 years.

All the effort might just pay off. In addition to shedding more light on the early Universe, the JWST should also help astronomers and astrophysicists fill gaps in studies where Hubble wasn't enough. Infrared waves are more likely to cut through cosmic dust, and they're the primary radiation from cooler celestial bodies like brown dwarfs and planets. There's a very real chance the JWST will help solve a string of cosmic mysteries during its brief lifetime.

Roku is finally expanding its original content beyond a parade of Quibi shows. The company has revealed that its first original feature-length movie (outside of acquired material) is Zoey's Extraordinary Christmas, a "holiday encore" for NBC's cancelled TV show Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist. It keeps the musical format and will preserve the original cast, including lead Jane Levy as well as Skylar Astin, Mary Steenburgen and Bernadette Peters.

Show creator Austin Winsberg will write and executive produce the show, while the series' pilot director Richard Shepard will return to his role for the movie. Lionsgate is leading the overall production. Like other originals, this will be free to watch on The Roku Channel (with ads) when it premieres sometime in the fall.

Roku is borrowing a familiar strategy: like Amazon and Netflix, it's extending a fan-favorite show that met a premature end on conventional TV. It's not a true original in that regard. This does signal growing confidence on Roku's part, though, and hints at where the company might take its originals going forward.

DJI has revealed its latest gimbal for smartphones and, as a recent leak suggested, the Osmo Mobile 5 has an extending arm that allows you to use it as a selfie stick. The company says this model, which is palm-sized when folded, is a third smaller than the last version and features its three-axis shot-stabilization technology.

The ShotGuides feature aims to help videography newcomers learn the ropes. It offers 30 packages of preset shooting tutorials and it can automatically edit videos. The ActiveTrack 4.0 function, meanwhile, offers tracking support at up to 3x zoom at 5 m/s. DJI claims it can identify and keep a subject centered in the frame.

Other features include gesture control, automatic dynamic zoom, timelapse, motionlapse (which lets you set movement points) and hyperlapse, which allows you to move with the device. Along with the three-axis stabilization, the latter three features use Electronic Image Stabilisation in an attempt to make videos look as smooth as possible. Additionally, the OM 5 has panorama and spin shot modes, as well as glamor effects and story mode templates, which are designed to help you create short videos to share on social media.

DJI

The handle has a new button that should allow you to access and control the OM 5's main features more easily, DJI says. There's a revamped magnetic clamp that goes over smartphone cases and aims to provide better protection and it should support more phone models than the OM 4. The Fill Light Phone Clamp, which is sold separately, has a built-in auxiliary light.

The OM 5 is available in two finishes, Sunset White and Athens Gray, starting today. It costs $159 and it includes the magnetic clamp, tripod, wrist strap, power cable and storage pouch. The Fill Light Phone Clamp costs $59.

Google is keen to make Gmail your go-to hub for more than just messages. As The Vergenoted, Google is rolling out a larger Workspace update (more on that shortly) that will add direct calling via Google Meet to the Gmail mobile app. You'll get to ring up your coworkers and other contacts for a quick one-on-one when email or a scheduled meeting won't do. The feature will also send a "chip" to your computer if you'd rather answer on the larger screen.

The company has pitched the feature as a rough equivalent to "spontaneous" office chats in a hybrid work environment where some staff are at home. And before you ask — yes, the Meet app will eventually add this calling feature as well.

Google

The Workspace changes also include a broader redesign of Gmail that makes it a hub for other activities. You'll now see Google's promised "spaces," a renamed and expanded version of Rooms chat channels with full threaded messages and the option of making spaces visible in search. You can accordingly expect easier navigation between email, chats, spaces and Meet, not to mention improved admin and security tools to help manage communications. Enterprise users should see these changes starting today, but everyday Gmail owners will see updates later on.

Other tweaks include options to specify whether you're in-office or virtual on a given day (important for planning meetings) and a Companion mode for Meet that lets you use a conference room's audiovisual hardware. Google is expanding its Meet hardware ecosystem, too. There are two new Series One devices (third-party equipment made to fit Google's goals), including the Series One Desk 27 all-in-one and Series One Board 65 4K collaborative board. More gadgets are Meet-certified, too, such as Logitech's Rally Bar and Rally Bar Mini room solutions as well as the Rayz Rally Pro speaker dock.

Google's ambitions for Gmail are fairly clear. Much like Microsoft Outlook, it's becoming a gateway for all office communication, not just email and the occasional meeting. That's not surprising when Google is directly competing with Office. At the same time, it does raise questions about support for dedicated apps. What need is there for other clients when Gmail theoretically does it all? Still, you might not mind if it saves you from switching apps and potentially losing focus.