After a hot streak during the pandemic, the biggest streamers are suffering from a domestic pull back. Netflix actually lost 433,000 subscribers in the US and Canada during its second quarter, while Disney is reportedly struggling, too. But, overseas is another story. Thanks to cheap mobile-only plans that cater to local viewing habits, streaming services are making gains in places like Asia. Netflix, which has a low-end tier in India that costs $2.67, nabbed just over a million subscribers in Asia-Pacific in its latest quarter. Now, Disney is looking to build on its mammoth success in India with its own mobile streaming plan that costs $6.70 per year.
Having rebranded its local service to Disney+ Hotstar last Spring, the company is introducing three tiers in total. Aside from mobile, which lets you watch on one mobile device in HD, there's Super for $12.08 per year (two devices including mobile, the web and more in HD) and Premium for $20.14 per year (four devices in 4K). The three plans will come into effect on September 1st, Disney announced at a virtual event, according to NDTV.
Though it's the opposite of the single monthly and yearly plan Disney+ offers in the US and elsewhere, the shakeup makes sense for India. Going mobile-only sees the company following a tried and tested model aimed at the large chunk of the local population that use mobiles to connect to the internet. The launch also comes just weeks ahead of Disney's latest earnings report on August 12th, where all eyes will be on Disney+ subscriber numbers.
Facebook is taking new steps to limit advertisers’ ability to reach teens with targeted ads. With the change, advertisers will no longer be able to use “interests” or information gleaned from other services to show ads to Facebook, Instagram and Messenger’s youngest users.
The change won’t prevent advertisers from reaching teens at all — they can still use broad demographic information like age, gender, and location — but the update will prevent more granular data from being used, including info from third-party websites and apps.
Instagram is also making several changes to make teens on its platform less visible. The app will begin making new accounts private by default for teens younger than 16, though teens as young as 13 can still opt for a public-facing account if they wish. Instagram said that in early tests “eight out of ten young people accepted the private default settings during sign-up,” suggesting the change could lead more teens to have non-public accounts.
For teens who do opt for public accounts, Instagram is making it more difficult for adults they don’t know to interact with them in the app. The company says it has “developed new technology” that makes it easier to identify “potentially suspicious behavior” in adults who could pose a risk to teens.
According to Instagram, adults flagged as “potentially suspicious” will be blocked from following teens or commenting on their posts (the app has previously limited adults ability to direct message teens). These adults also won’t see content from teens in Reels, Explore and other in-app recommendations. The company isn’t sharing many details about how it determines which adults might be sketchy, but said one factor would be adults who get blocked or reported by younger users.
The changes come as Instagram is vying for younger users. The company has publicly discussed future plans for a version of its service for children younger than 13 years old. That idea, which the company has said is in early stages, has already prompted pushback from lawmakers and other officials. But Facebook is still pushing ahead with the idea. In a separate blog post, the company again said it plans to work with experts in child development and online safety as it creates the service, and that it welcomes "productive collaboration with lawmakers."
In March, Master & Dynamic debuted its best true wireless earbuds yet with the MW08. As the company did with its MW07 model, another version of the MW08 is making its debut today. The MW08 Sport offers all of the features that make the MW08 so good, including 12-hour battery life, excellent sound quality and improved active noise cancellation (ANC). This new Sport option is made with different materials, has more ear tips in the box and it comes with a wireless charging case. However, the additions tack $50 onto the price.
Instead of the ceramic and aluminum combo that we saw on the MW08, the MW08 Sport pairs the metal accents with sapphire glass. Master & Dynamic says the new material is scratch and shatter resistant which the company argues gives these earbuds the ability "to withstand any workout." Like the previous version, the MW08 Sport is IPX5 rated, which means they should withstand a sweat session with no issues. There are also some changes for the MW08 Sport's charging case. The company's familiar shiny stainless steel was a fingerprint magnet and it didn't take much for it to begin showing scratches. That material has been replaced with Kevlar fiber, so the case has a more tactile soft-touch coating with a black and gray pattern. And, of course, it should also be more durable.
Master & Dynamic
More importantly, the included case now supports wireless charging, which is likely the primary cause for the price increase. As you might expect, Master & Dynamic made its own pad to support this feature, an accessory that will debut alongside the MW08 Sport for $69 (€69/£59). The company says wireless charging for the case itself will give you 50 percent battery in 30 minutes and a full charge will take just over an hour and a half. Compare that to 15 minutes for half or an hour for a full charge with a USB-C cable. Charging times for the earbuds in the case are unchanged from the MW08: 50 percent in 15 minutes and an hour for a complete top off.
The last big change for the MW08 Sport is the selection of ear tips. Like the MW08, Master & Dynamic gives you five sets of silicone tips to help you find the best fit. For the Sport model, the company is also throwing in two sizes of foam tips that offer a more secure fit for workouts. Based on my experience using the MW08 Sport for the last week, the foam tips are more comfortable than the silicone options too.
Master & Dynamic
Inside, the MW08 Sport is unchanged from the the MW08. The earbuds pack 11mm Beryllium-coated drivers to power their stellar sound. Dual-mode ANC returns, giving you the option of blocking as much of the world as possible (ANC Max) or a setting for "less noisy" spots (All Day ANC). The company's two ambient sound modes are also back, with one dedicated to conversation and the other suited for more general use. The only bummer here is you still have to choose your ANC and ambient sound mode inside of Mater & Dynamic's app. The on-board controls don't cycle between the two, but activate your last selection when you turn on either noise cancellation or ambient mode from the earbuds.
Battery life is also unchanged, and that's a good thing. The MW08 Sport offers 12 hours of battery life on the buds themselves with 30 additional hours in the charging case.
The new materials, additional ear tips and wireless charging bring the cost of the MW08 Sport up to $349. That's $50 more than the MW08. In addition to black and white colors that are similar to the MW08, navy and green options are available on the MW08 Sport. Both the new earbuds and the wireless charging pad (MC100) are available starting today from the company's website.
The power of deepfake tech to hone digital effects into incredibly realistic video can’t be underestimated. We’ve seen a top-level Tom Cruise impersonator transformed with a high-level deepfake artist, and now companies — and film studios — are taking notice.
Luke Skywalker's CGI face in The Mandalorian was met with a lot of criticism, and one fan’s efforts to improve it resulted in a new job. Lucasfilm has hired YouTuber Shamook to ensure future projects won’t have wobbly representations of actors that are either much older or perhaps even deceased now. The latter, however, remains an ethical conundrum in itself, as demonstrated by the recent Anthony Bourdain documentary.
The user-friendly medical device can be operated at home.
We've seen helmets and AI that can spot brain tumors, but a new magnetic hard hat can actually treat them, too. Researchers used a helmet that generates a magnetic field to shrink a deadly tumor by a third. The 53-year-old patient who underwent the treatment ultimately passed away due to an unrelated injury, but an autopsy showed that the procedure had removed 31 percent of the tumor mass from his brain. Continue reading.
Apple’s tiny Bluetooth trackers have one critical flaw: no built-in keychain hole. That means anyone who buys AirTags has to buy holders or cases to attach them to their stuff.
It’s a very Apple way of milking as much money out of a new product as possible since many will simply buy Apple’s own AirTag holders. But those aren’t the only options available — plenty of accessory companies have already made AirTag cases. We take a look at all the options. Continue reading.
Microsoft's double-screen Surface Duo landed with outdated specs and a hard-to-swallow price, but the company might be looking for a do-over. A Tech Rat leak suggests a Surface Duo with a new conspicuous rear camera bump with three sensors might be on the way — as well as a new black look. Continue reading.
LG has revealed a new family of wireless earbuds, and while germ-killing UV tech is still on board, the coolest part may be backward compatibility. The high-end FP9 model has a charging case that plugs into a headphone jack to work as a Bluetooth dongle. The feature could be handy during flights and when dealing with wired environments of yesteryear, like gym treadmills. The headphones feature active noise cancellation and spatial audio compatibility, too. The LG Tone Free FP series will be available this month, price still TBC. Continue reading.
Apple has pushed out a new update to iOS 14 for iPhone and iPad owners. While there are no new features, it addresses a bug that broke Apple's Unlock with iPhone integration, preventing Touch ID-equipped phones from unlocking Apple Watch devices. So if you use an older iPhone with your Apple wearable, you'll want to download the update as soon as possible.Continue reading.
If you thought the classic ‘pants on a dog’ problem was tricky, try it with treads.
As robots increasingly move into our everyday lives, a new kind of clothing revolution could soon be upon us once again, according to a new research study out of New York’s Cornell University.
“We believe that robot clothes present an underutilized opportunity for the field of designing interactive systems,” the team argues in What Robots Need From Clothing. It’s not simply a matter of tossing human clothing on a robotic chassis. “What robot clothes are is integrally tied to what robots need from clothing. Robot clothing should analogously fulfill needs robots have, rather than just being human clothes on a robot,” the researchers wrote. What will that entail? Continue reading.
Tesla's Semi truck won't start hauling cargo this year either. The automaker has revealed during its most recent earnings call that it has pushed back the truck's arrival — yet again — to 2022, three years after its original launch target in 2019. Last year, the company announced that it had to delay the vehicle's release to 2021 but didn't elaborate on what prompted the decision and if it was primary due to the pandemic. Now, according to TechCrunch, Tesla told shareholders that the Semi truck will be delayed due to the limited availability of battery cells and global supply chain challenges.
The whole statement reads:
"We believe we remain on track to build our first Model Y vehicles in Berlin and Austin in 2021. The pace of the respective production ramps will be influenced by the successful introduction of many new product and manufacturing technologies, ongoing supply-chain-related challenges and regional permitting.
To better focus on these factories, and due to the limited availability of battery cells and global supply chain challenges, we have shifted the launch of the Semi truck program to 2022. We are also making progress on the industrialization of Cybertruck, which is currently planned for Austin production subsequent to Model Y."
As TechCrunch notes, Tesla executive Jerome Guillen also left the company in June, just a few months after he started leading the trucking division. While the automaker didn't say whether his departure was in any way connected to the Semi's delay, Guillen used to lead Tesla's entire automotive business until he was made president of the Heavy Trucking unit in March.
Tesla first announced the Semi back in 2017, promising an electric big rig with a 500-mile range and technologies that include Enhanced Autopilot. It's been traveling all around the US and has apparently been capable of doing cross-country trips on its own without escorts since 2018, relying entirely on Tesla's existing Supercharger network. Elon Musk told staff in an internal email last year that the Semi is ready to enter mass production, but the company's readiness doesn't mean anything without the truck's components.
Amazon's latest Echo Buds have dropped to below $100 for the first time since Prime Day. Best Buy is offering the active noise-canceling earbuds for $80, down from their normal price of $120. The Alexa-powered buds were already affordable, but the latest deal should help sway the neutrals. Especially considering that they were only released in April.
Amazon improved its Echo Buds in all the right places with the second-gen model. With the right tweaks in the Alexa app, you can boost the audio, and take full advantage of the big bass, courtesy of that new 5.7mm high-performance driver. Amazon's digital assistant can also complete a range of tasks, from firing up music and podcasts to setting reminders and even fetching transit info for some US cities.
The overhaul also extends to the design. Both the earbuds and the charging case are 20 percent and 40 percent smaller, respectively. At this price, however, you can expect some cutbacks. One of the few areas that remains the same is the battery life, which offers five hours overall and two hours from just a 15-minute charge. The only other shortcoming is that the buds don't always block out noisy backgrounds on calls. But, with a little in-app customization, you can crank up your voice to help overcome that.
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Earlier today, Intel unveiled detailed plans for its future chip technology, describing how it plans to catch rivals TSMC and Samsung by 2025. It also revealed that it will start building chips for Qualcomm using its first new transistor architecture in a decade. In addition, the company will supply its packaging tech to Amazon for its AWS data centers.
Intel's biggest technology leap will happen in 2024 when the company ushers in its RibbonFET and PowerVia technology (below). RibbonFET will be a new kind of "gate-all-around" transistor delivering faster switching speeds in a smaller footprint. PowerVia, meanwhile, will be a backside power delivery system "eliminating the need for power routing on the front side of the wafer" and making chips more efficient.
Intel will manufacture chips for Qualcomm using that 20A process technology, though it didn't say which products it would produce or when. Qualcomm currently uses multiple foundries to build its Snapdragon processors and other chips, used mainly in smartphones and other portable devices.
CEO Pat Gelsinger first laid out Intel's ambitious foundry plans earlier this year as part of the company's IDM 2.0 strategy, saying it would invest $20 billion in two Arizona fab plants. Now, it needs to deliver on all that if it wants to keep building its own chips, let alone products for companies the size of Qualcomm and Amazon.
Luke Skywalker's CGI face in the character's The Mandalorian cameo was met with a lot of criticism, and fans even tried to fix the scene with various tools and programs. One of those fans did so well, Lucasfilm has hired him to help it ensure its upcoming projects won't feature underwhelming de-aging and facial visual effects. That fan is a YouTuber known as Shamook, who uses deepfake technology to improve upon bad CG effects and to put actors in shows and movies they never starred in.
In the comments section of a video that replaces Christian Bale with Robert Pattinson as the Batman in Christopher Nolan's film, Shamook wrote that he joined Lucasfilm/Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) a few months ago. When asked what his role within the company is, he said his official title is "Senior Facial Capture Artist." The studio has confirmed the hire with IndieWire, telling the publication that it's always on the lookout for talented artists. A representative said in a statement:
"Over the past several years ILM has been investing in both machine learning and A.I. as a means to produce compelling visual effects work and it’s been terrific to see momentum building in this space as the technology advances."
In addition to working on a deepfake version of Luke in The Mandalorian, he also deepfaked Tarkin's and Leia's appearances in Rogue One. Shamook's videos don't always show the most realistic results, but the great ones like Luke's truly look impressive. Lucasfilm could his technical know-how to make sure de-aged characters and CG faces won't take us straight to uncanny valley anymore.
How much would you spend for a no-compromise mini-LED gaming monitor? Samsung thinks it has an answer. The company will start taking pre-orders for its long-teased Odyssey Neo G9 display on July 29th for $2,500. Yes, you could buy a nice PC for less than the cost of this curved, 49-inch beast — although you might have good reasons to buy this over smaller, flatter Odyssey screens.
As you might have guessed, the use of mini-LED delivers very high contrast ratios for an LCD monitor. Samsung claims a black level of just 0.0004. However, you're also getting extremely bright HDR thanks to a peak brightness of 2,000 nits that makes many TVs seem dim by comparison. Customizable lighting effects help add to the flash.
You should also see the same 5,120 x 1,440 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms pixel response time from last year's Odyssey G9, not to mention connectivity that includes two HDMI ports, DisplayPort and a pair of USB 3.0 connections.
You're clearly getting features that are hard to match. However, it's also apparent that Samsung is targeting a fairly narrow audience — The Neo G9 is meant for well-heeled gamers who want the most immersive non-VR experience possible. It could easily hit the sweet spot if you're in that demographic, but creative pros (and anyone on a budget) will probably want to look elsewhere.
Ahead of its upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event, Samsung has published a blog post by its president TM Roh that basically tells us what it plans to announce next month. In addition to a new Galaxy Watch powered by Wear OS, the company will be launching the third generation of its Galaxy Z series and "the first-ever S Pen designed specifically for foldable phones."
A stylus made for the pliable screens on foldables like the Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip has been a widely requested feature, and would make the larger, opened up displays more useful. Of course, Samsung shared little else about this S Pen besides the fact that it's coming, so there are plenty of unknowns at the moment. How will it avoid damaging the softer, flexible screen? How precise will the stylus be? What size is its nib, what is its pressure sensitivity and will there be the foldables have onboard slots to house it? Will it have Bluetooth support for remote control actions? Clearly, these are things we'll have to wait till Unpacked on August 11th to learn about.
Roh also confirmed that Samsung will not be launching a new Note handset at the event, saying that "Instead of unveiling a new Galaxy Note this time around, we will further broaden beloved Note features to more Samsung Galaxy devices."
Chris Velazco / Engadget
As for the third generation of the Galaxy Z phones we'll be seeing at the event, Roh said the company has "lined up even more partner apps that make the most of the versatile fold-out format." We can expect "hands-free optimized video calling with Google Duo and watching videos in Flex mode on YouTube," as well as "multitasking in Microsoft Teams."
Specifically, too, the next Galaxy Z Flip will have "an even more refined style" and "more durable, stronger materials," while the upcoming Z Fold will "combine the very best that smartphones and tablets offer and [deliver] completely new ways of working, connecting and creating."
The language is unsurprisingly vague, as Samsung can't give away all the details ahead of Unpacked. But it clearly also wants people to be excited — excited enough that they might be temped to reserve one of the new Z series devices already. If you choose to go through the company's Reserve Now program, you can trade in up to two devices, including phones, tablets and wearables, towards a new Galaxy product. I'd recommend till we learn more about what's coming on August 11th before doing that, and you can join us on Engadget's YouTube channel to watch Unpacked live. We'll be kicking things off with a pre-show at 9:40am ET and answer your questions in a post-show after Samsung wraps.
