France’s Budget Minister Gabriel Attal announced plans for a lease program to open up EV use. “We know that for many French, [EVs] remain very expensive,” he said, adding the government was working to figure out how quickly it could implement the measure. 

Reuters

At the moment, under a subsidy scheme similar to the one introduced by the US Inflation Reduction Act, French car buyers can receive as much as €6,000 off electric vehicles less than €47,000. Under this new electric vehicle subsidy program, people could lease an EV for €100 ($100) per month.

– Mat Smith

The biggest stories you might have missed

• Apple TV+ is here to stay on T-Mobile's Magenta Max plan

• Google's Pixel 6a drops to a new low of $370 on Amazon

• Elon Musk subpoenas Twitter whistleblower

• Netflix secures global streaming rights to 'Berserk,' 'Parasyte,' 'Monster' and other classic anime

• A new Mafia game is in development

• FTC sues company for selling identifiable location data, including abortion clinic visits

The best affordable Windows laptops

Chromebooks aren’t always the answer.

You probably don’t think of cheap Windows laptops when you think of daily drivers. But it would be a big mistake to ignore these devices – if not for yourself, for someone close. There’s a reason the big PC companies, like Acer, ASUS and Dell, make Windows devices for under $500. We lay out what to look out for (things like an SSD with at least 128GB of space, a 1080p display and a mostly metal design) and share our top choices.

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What we bought: Cuisinart’s ice cream maker wasn’t my first choice

But it’s getting the job done.

While Senior News Editor Billy Steele wanted a White Mountain ice cream maker, they’re hard to pick up. Eventually, he received Cuisinart’s Pure Indulgence two-quart ice cream maker as a gift. It’s a compact countertop model that takes up about the same space as a food processor. It has a bowl insert you stick in the freezer to chill, and a plastic dasher churns your ice cream. You just really need to ensure the mixing bowl is properly chilled and homemade ice cream is all yours.

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Apple may have registered more 'Reality' trademarks for its upcoming AR headset

It registered 'Reality One,' 'Reality Pro' and 'Reality Processor' in the US and elsewhere.

Reuters

Apple may again be looking to nail down "Reality" trademarks ahead of the launch of its much-anticipated AR/VR headset. While Apple didn't directly request the trademarks, law firms the company has previously used applied for "Reality One," "Reality Pro" and "Reality Processor" in the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica and Uruguay. With realityOS as a potential name for the operating system, Reality One and Reality Pro could be naming options for the actual headsets. "Reality Processor” could be an M2-based chip to power those.

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Sony launches 'PlayStation Studios Mobile' with Savage Game acquisition

It's jumping into mobile gaming.

Sony has announced a fresh push into mobile gaming with the launch of a new division inside PlayStation Studios, aptly called PlayStation Studios Mobile, and the acquisition of Savage Game Studios. Sony said the new studio will be "providing more ways for more people to engage with our content.” Savage Game Studio doesn't appear to have produced any games yet, but its co-founders had a hand in mobile franchises like Clash of Clans and Angry Birds. It will join PlayStation Studios Mobile, which will operate separately from its console division and create "new experiences" based on PlayStation IP and franchises. You know, like all those movies.

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Facebook now supports NFTs

Together at last.

Meta

Meta has followed through on its promise to bring NFT (non-fungible token) support to Facebook. Users can now post digital collectibles they have in their digital wallets across Facebook and Instagram. After they connect digital wallets to one app, they'll be able to access NFTs from both of them. Meta is moving deeper into NFT territory even though the market for the digital tokens has nosedived in recent months.

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Logitech has refreshed its iconic gaming mouse, the G502, with lighter materials and new features while mostly keeping its design. The new lineup is called the G502 X, and it comes in a wired version, a base wireless form and another wired option with RGB lighting. Logitech used thin-wall exoskeleton and a lighter scroll wheel to reduce the wired mouse's weight to 89 grams. It also used an updated version of its proprietary Lightspeed wireless protocol to ensure that its wireless versions have a 68 percent faster response rate than the previous generation's.

All three versions use Lightforce hybrid optical-mechanical switch technology, which (as Logitech explains) combines the crisp tactile clicks of mechanical switches with the ultra low-latency/speedy performance of optical switches. They also use Logitech's Hero 25K gaming sensor — the company's most advanced mouse sensor — for max speed and accuracy. Plus, they come with a removable DPI shift button that lets you program the mouse to go faster or slower. You can either reverse the button's orientation to bring it closer to your thumb or replace it completely with the included blank cover if you don't think you need it.

The Plus wireless variant of the G502 X has all the features the other models offer, but it also comes equipped with a flowing 8-LED lighting strip that you can customize with effects and personalizations through the G Hub software. While it will likely use more battery than its less showy wireless sibling, it does have a play detection feature that switches the lighting off while your hand is covering it to conserve power.

The new G502 X models in black and white options are now available for pre-order from the Logitech G website and will also be sold via retailers like Amazon starting this month. You can get the wired G502 X mouse (Amazon) for $80, the G502 X Lightspeed wireless mouse for $140 and the G502 X Plus wireless mouse (Amazon) with RGB lighting for $160.

Earlier this month, Logitech announced that it was working on a handheld gaming device with Tencent that would "support multiple cloud gaming services" including NVIDIA's GeForce Now and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Now, it looks like we're getting our first look at the device thanks to prolific leaker Evan Blass. We also know that it should be called the G Gaming Handheld as Logitech has listed that name on a recently published landing page. 

It looks just like many other gaming handhelds, with left and right joysticks, a direction pad, ABXY buttons, a home button and shoulder pads, along with a custom "G" button. Another image also shows what looks like the home screen, with icons for Google's Play Store, Xbox, GeForce Now, Steam, Chrome and YouTube. We also see icons for user profile, messages, settings and power.  

You could compare the G Gaming Handheld to a Steam Deck or even Nintendo's Switch Lite in terms of the basic design. The cloud gaming aspect means it's likely to have similar capabilities to a smartphone, albeit with a more convenient form factor and gaming-centric UI. As such, it'll compete not just with other handhelds but numerous controllers designed for smartphones like Razer's Kishi V2, the 8bitDo Pro 2 and SteelSeries Stratus+ — so it's level of success will depend strongly on the price. 

There's no word yet on when it'll arrive, but as mentioned, Logitech now has a landing page in place, so you can submit your email address to get more details. 

Google's Pixel 6a has hit a new low price after going on sale just a week ago. You can now pick one up for $370 in "charcoal" or "sage" colors for a savings of $79 off the regular price (19 percent off) — $20 cheaper than the previous deal. That's a great price on an already affordable, nearly new handset that offers a lot of bang for the buck. 

The Pixel 6a is a top mid-range smartphone pick, offering the same Tensor chip as the Pixel 6 and 6 Pro, while giving you the purest Android experience possible. It offers excellent camera quality for the price, with the two 12-megapixel rear cameras and 8-MP front sensor delivering bright, colorful pictures and video. It also comes with a very distinctive design, along with a sharp 6.1-inch screen, long-lasting battery and more. 

You don't get everything available in the flagships, of course. The 60Hz refresh rate isn't as smooth as the higher-end Pixels or Samsung's A53. Storage is limited to 128GB, there's no wireless charging and Google dropped the headphone jack we loved on the Pixel 5a — so you'll need a dongle for wired audio. Still, there aren't many other phones that can match it in this price range, particularly considering the discount.

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Snapchat is the latest app to add dual camera functionality. The app is launching the “Dual Camera” recording feature it previewed during its Partner Summit earlier this year. The update enables users to snap photos and video using their phone’s front-facing and rear cameras simultaneously. It’s available now on iOS for iPhone XS and newer (Snap says Dual Camera won’t be available on Android for several more months.)

The company first teased the feature in April, when it said the new video option would be part of a suite of more advanced features for creators called “director mode.” But while director mode hasn’t yet launched — Snap says it’s expected in the coming months — the company opted to roll out Dual camera as a standalone feature in the main Snapchat camera.

Capturing content with both device’s cameras at once isn’t a new concept — the briefly popular app Frontback experimented with it nearly a decade ago — but the concept has become more popular in recent months with the rise of selfie app BeReal. However, Snapchat’s take on the feature is a bit different than those apps, which were more focused on selfies.

With Snapchat’s Dual Camera enabled, users can record video using both cameras at once, and can change up the layout of the two clips. There’s a split-screen version, which places each camera on one half of the screen; a picture-in-picture style; and a cutout mode similar to the effect you might get with TikTok’s green screen. Dual Camera mode also supports Snapchat's signature augmented reality lenses, though for now the effects can only be applied after the fact. 

Snap isn’t the only company experimenting with dual-camera-recording. Instagram is also testing a dual camera setup called Candid Challenges, which the company confirmed last week is currently an “internal prototype.” For now, that feature sounds more like a straight copy of BeReal, but it’s not difficult to imagine the feature could one day make an appearance in Reels as well

If the foldable phone life isn't for you yet but you still like Samsung gadgets, you can pick up one of the company's other flagships for some of the best prices we've seen. Amazon has discounted the entire Galaxy S22 lineup ahead of Labor Day, so you can get the Galaxy S22 Ultra for $930, the S22+ for $750 or the standard S22 for $650. Those are new record-low prices for the Ultra and the S22, and a return to its best price ever for the S22+.

Aside from the Galaxy Z Fold 4, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has all of the most advanced features Samsung has to offer right now. Its a hybrid device that marries features from both the S and Note families, with the result being a handset with a 6.8-inch Super AMOLED touchscreen that supports 120Hz refresh rates, a peak brightness of 1,750 nits and S Pen input. The stylus is built into the phone, so Note loves will be able to doodle, take notes and more wherever they may be.

The S22 Ultra also has a formidable triple rear camera system, consisting of a 108-megapixel main sensor, a 12MP ultrawide shooter and two 10MP telephoto lenses. We were impressed by the photos taken with the smartphone, plus improvements like better auto-framing and new features like Adaptive Pixel make it a great system for mobile photographers.

Overall performance is solid as well. The S22 Ultra runs on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and 12GB of RAM, and the base model has 128GB of storage. It handled everything we threw at it, and we rarely felt it get warm even under stress. While we wish the S22 Ultra's battery life was a bit longer, it's still enough to get you through the day.

Getting all of that for less than $1,000 is a great deal, but if you're on a tighter budget, either the Galaxy S22+ or S22 handsets would make great choices. Both earned a score of 87 from us thanks to their slick designs, lovely displays and strong overall performance — and if you spring for the S22+, you'll get additional perks like a longer battery life, faster WiFi speeds and support for UWB and WiFi 6E.

Smartphones aren't the only Samsung gadgets on sale at Amazon right now either. A bunch of Galaxy tablets are up to 30 percent off, so you can pick up the Galaxy Tab S7 FE for $500, or $180 off its usual price, and the Galaxy Tab S6 Lite for $300, or $130 off the normal rate. All of those deals expire today, though, so you'll have to decide soon if you want to pick one up. Also, the Galaxy Buds Pro are $60 off and down to $140, while the Galaxy SmartTag+ is $10 off and on sale for only $30.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Sony is making a push into mobile gaming with the launch of "PlayStation Studios Mobile" and acquisition of Savage Game Studios, it announced. Sony said the new studio will be "providing more ways for more people to engage with our content, and striving to reach new audiences unfamiliar with PlayStation and our games."

Savage Game Studio doesn't appear to have produced any games yet, but its co-founders had a hand in mobile franchises like Clash of Clans and Angry Birds. It will join PlayStation Studios Mobile, which will operate separately from its console division and create "new experiences" based on PlayStation IP and franchises. Savage is also currently working on a "new unannounced triple-A mobile live service action game," though it didn't offer any more details. 

As a console maker first and foremost, Sony has a delicate balancing act with mobile, much as it did when it jumped into PC gaming with titles like Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection. To that end, it was sure to note that any efforts beyond console "in no way diminish our commitment to the PlayStation community." 

At the same time, Sony no doubt felt pressure to enter the very lucrative mobile space. Michail Katkoff, CEO and Co-founder of Savage Game Studios, said that Sony's PlayStation Studios "respects our vision for how we can best operate and succeed," and will let them "tap into PlayStation’s amazing catalog of IP." In that sense, Sony might take the same course Nintendo did when it brought Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, Fire Emblem and other franchises to mobile. 

Apple may again be looking to nail down "Reality" trademarks ahead of the launch of its much-anticipated AR/VR headset, Bloomberg has reported. Applications were filed for the names "Reality One," "Reality Pro" and "Reality Processor" in the US, EU, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Costa Rica and Uruguay. While Apple didn't directly request the trademarks, they were filed by law firms that it has previously used to claim brand names. 

Clues emerged in February that Apple may be using "Reality" branding for its headsets, when the term was spotted in GitHub open source code and App Store upload logs. Then in May, trademark applications were spotted for "realityOS" at the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Those were filed by a company called Realityo Systems, but evidence suggests that's a shell company created by Apple to cover its tracks.

With realityOS as a potential name for the operating system, Reality One and Reality Pro could be naming options for the actual headsets. "Reality Processor” could be an M2-based chip designed for the headset that reportedly includes 16 gigabytes of memory, along with graphics technology designed for high-resolution VR and AR images.

There are similar clues with the new filings. The three "Reality" trademarks were filed by a shell company called Immersive Health Solutions LLC incorporate in February, according to Bloomberg. That was registered by another shell corporation (Corporation Trust Co.) often used for filings by firms who want to avoid publicity. Trademarks filed in other countries like New Zealand, meanwhile, were made by law firms that Apple has used in the past. 

Apple's development of AR/VR headsets has been rumored for years, after it purchased VR company VRvana in 2017. The most recent rumor from Bloomberg suggests that the headset will be delayed until 2023 . It may include VR versions of apps like Maps and FaceTime along with collaboration features that will help it compete with Meta. It may also let users watch movies and other content, while offering health-related functions. 

For over a decade, Valve has offered access to Steam through Android and iOS clients. In recent years, however, the Steam mobile app hasn’t gotten much attention from the company. Not only does it look dated, but it’s also a pain to use. I only keep it on my iPhone to take advantage of Steam Guard verification.

The good news is that Valve is working on a new version of the mobile app. In a blog post spotted by PC Gamer, the company invited “invested Steam users” to beta test its redesigned Android and iOS client. “We’ve rebuilt the app on a new framework and modernized the design. (2015 called and wanted their app back,)” Valve wrote. 

In addition to previously included features, the redesigned app adds more intelligent notifications, multi-account support and a new way to log into your Steam account. Instead of inputting your username, password and Steam Guard verification, you can use a QR code to simplify the process. It’s probably the most useful feature added by Valve.

The early consensus among testers is that the new app is a welcome improvement over its predecessor. It does have the usual blemishes you find in beta software, including sluggish performance and plenty of bugs, but it's a step forward. “The sooner we get your feedback on a product, the better,” Valve wrote. “This is especially important when the app can be used on so many different phones and devices.”

There’s no public release date for the redesigned app yet. However, the beta is open to anyone who wants to take part. You can find installation instructions on the Steam website, but note that the iOS beta is limited to 10,000 concurrent participants due to Apple’s TestFlight restrictions.

Secure messaging app Signal isn’t the only platform dealing with the aftermath of the recent Twilio data breach. In an August 24th update spotted by TechCrunch, the company disclosed that hackers gained access to 93 individual Authy accounts. The platform is one of the more popular two-factor authentication apps on the market. It was acquired by Twilio in 2015 and has approximately 75 million users.

According to Twilio, hackers took advantage of the access they gained to register additional devices to the 93 accounts affected by the breach, meaning they had the opportunity to use the software to generate login codes. The company has “since identified and removed unauthorized devices” from the 93 accounts. Twilio says affected users should review their linked logins and look for signs of suspicious activity. It also recommends that those individuals double-check their linked device list and disable the app’s “Allow Multi-device” option.

On Wednesday, Twilio also shared that it now believes 163 of its customers had their data accessed for a “limited period of time” due to the hack. The company previously put that number at 125. While the scale of the Authy component is small, it represents a worst-case scenario for those individuals. Adding two-factor authentication to your accounts is one of the best ways to protect yourself online; having a hacker compromise that system, even if only momentarily, is scary.