If you've been eager to use NVIDIA's more powerful robotics 'brain' for projects, you now have your chance — provided you're willing to pay a premium. The company is now selling the Jetson AGX Orin developer kit for $1,999. The palm-sized computing device is now billed as eight times more powerful than Jetson AGX Xavier (275 trillion operations per second, or TOPS) thanks to its 12-core ARM Cortex-A78AE CPUs, Ampere-based GPU and upgrades to its AI accelerators, interfaces, memory bandwidth and sensor support.

You'll have to wait a while longer for production-ready units. They'll be available in the fourth quarter of the year starting at $399 for a 'basic' Orin NX kit with six CPU cores, a 1,792-core GPU, 8GB of RAM and 70 TOPS of performance. To match the claimed 275 TOPS, you'll need to use a $1,599 Orin module with the full 12 CPU cores, 2,048-core GPU and 64GB of RAM.

NVIDIA is doing more to give robot creators a helping hand, though. It's launching an Isaac Nova Orin platform that includes two Jetson AGX Orin modules and the sensor suite needed for a robot to detect the world around it. The platform can handle up to six cameras, three LiDAR units and eight ultrasonic sensors. You'll also get the tools needed to simulate the robot, not to mention support for software that helps speed up mapping, navigation and perception. NVIDIA hadn't mentioned pricing as of this writing, but it's safe to presume the extra module and sensors will cost significantly more.

You probably won't use the new Jetson hardware for amateur projects, but it could have a significant impact on the technology you use or buy. NVIDIA is keen to note existing Jetson users like John Deere (which uses the tech in an upcoming autonomous tractor) and Hyundai Robotics. Orin's extra performance isn't guaranteed to lead to more intelligent robots, but it should at least help those robots handle tasks quickly.

A week ago, Google somewhat surprisingly announced that Steam was coming to Chromebooks in a very early alpha test format — but aside from a mention of this during the company's Games Developer Summit keynote, there were no details to be had. Given the somewhat surprising amount of interest around it, Google is now making things a bit more official by releasing instructions on how to get Steam up and running on Chrome OS. The company is also providing details on supported hardware, games that should work and bugs you can expect to run into. 

For starters, you'll need a supported device, and it's only a handful of Chromebooks. Google says that you'll need a device with Intel Iris Xe Graphics, 11th-generation Core i5 or i7 processors and at least 8GB of RAM. Google specifically said that configurations with an Intel i3 processor or 4GB of RAM aren't supported. For the alpha, only the following devices are supported:

●  Acer Chromebook 514 (CB514-1W)

●  Acer Chromebook 515 (CB515-1W)

●  Acer Chromebook Spin 713 (CP713-3W)

●  ASUS Chromebook Flip CX5 (CX5500)

●  ASUS Chromebook CX9 (CX9400)

●  HP Pro c640 G2 Chromebook

●  Lenovo 5i-14 Chromebook

Assuming you have supported hardware, Google says you'll need to switch your Chromebook to the Dev channel, and cautions that you shouldn't do this with hardware that you rely on for daily use. From there, you'll need to enable a specific flag in Chrome as well as type a few commands into Chrome OS's Crosh terminal. Google says you can find full directions here.

Once you have Steam installed, there's a surprisingly large group of games that Google has tried and suggests testers try as well. Unsurprisingly, it includes a lot of Valve titles like Portal 2, Dota 2, Team Fortress 2 and Half-Life 2. Other games Google suggests trying include Celeste, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (i7 and 16GB of RAM required for that one, with graphics set to medium or lower), Hades, Cuphead, TEKKEN 7, Fallout 4 and more. 

Google notes that Steam will default to installing and running a Linux version of your selected game, assuming it's available (which is why so many Valve games are supported here). But the Steam Play compatibility tool means you can try other games, as well; it leverages the Proton software that allows some Windows-based games to run on Linux. Of course, there are no guarantees this will work, but it's worth a shot if there's a particular title you want to try on Chrome OS. 

Come to think of it, "there are no guarantees this will work" sums up the vibe of Google's blog post pretty well. The company took great pains to note this is an alpha release; between the less stable nature of the Dev channel in general and the alpha status of Steam, Google says that "anything can break" and that "you will encounter crashes, performance regressions, and never-before-seen bugs." 

So, this isn't exactly a release for the faint of heart — but the good news is that it's extremely easy to roll back Chrome OS to its original state, and most of your settings and preferences are all kept in the cloud. If you have one of the few supported Chromebooks and want to give it a shot, you can do so now, but just make sure you've backed up any local files on your device before you take the plunge. 

Instagram tags are no longer just for other accounts. The app is expanding its product tagging feature so that any user can tag specific items within their post. Up until now, product tagging has only been available to businesses and creators, but over “the next few months,” Instagram will allow all US users to access the tags.

Tagging a product works the same way as tagging another account — users can add them to feed posts by tapping on specific areas of their image. Product tags are available for businesses that have a shop on Instagram.

While creators often use product tags in sponsored content or posts promoting businesses they partner with, people using the product tags won’t get anything if one of their followers makes a purchase via their post. The company says the feature is intended to help people “support their favorite small businesses.”

However, Instagram is experimenting with affiliate shops, which allow creators to earn a commission when their followers make a purchase, elsewhere in its app. And company executives have suggested they want to expand the app’s revenue-generating features to more people over time as part of their ambition to grow a “creator middle class.”

With its newly minted bi-directional charging capabilities, the Ford F-150 Lightning can now serve as a backup home power supply in a pinch. Soon, the automaker hopes it might do the same for your office space thanks to a new partnership with Cisco, makers of Webex conference software.

Ford CEO Jim Farley announced on Tuesday, “We’re going all in, creating separate but complementary businesses that give us start-up speed and unbridled innovation.” So far that effort has seen the company announce in recent months plans to separate its EV and ICE businesses, produce in excess of 600,000 EVs annually by in 2023, and introduce seven new EV models to the European market in the next few years. 

And what better way for Ford to fully capture the hearts and minds of the American driving public than to outfit their electric vehicles with the internet's most popular pastime since March 2020, online conference calling? “We’re looking at ways to bring the human connection in," Darren Palmer, Vice President, Ford Electric Vehicle Programs, said in a press statement. "We don’t see why people wouldn’t be using their vehicles as a fantastic quality office, to be able to collaborate together.”  

To that end, Ford and Cisco have partnered to "unlock the browser experience on SYNC4A," the automaker's infotainment system, and are currently developing a WebEx app capable of running natively on the HTML 5-centric OS. “Ford is excited to be collaborating with Webex by Cisco for next-gen experiences in our electric vehicles,” Palmer continued. “We see Webex as providing a secure and immersive collaboration experience.”

Your cat jumping in front of the webcam can be quite cute when you're conference calling from home. Your kids loudly melting down in the back seat about who may or may not be touching whom is decidedly less adorable. To help prevent those high-decibel interruptions, future Ford EVs will be outfitted with Webex's Optimize for My Voice feature which automatically mutes out everybody in the cabin who isn't part of the meeting. To further minimize distractions to the driver, “We’ll make sure that any collaboration like Webex is deployed only when the vehicle is stationary, or audio-only when driving," Palmer said. The companies did not disclose a timeline for the application's eventual release.

Samsung's Galaxy Buds Pro are a good all-round choice for those looking for Android-friendly earbuds. Even better, if you're in the market for a set, they're on sale on Amazon for today only for $130. That's $70 off the regular price.

We gave Galaxy Buds Pro a score of 85 in our review (the more recent Galaxy Buds 2 received a slightly lower score of 84). Along with good sound quality, active noise cancellation (ANC) and a comfortable fit, there's support for wireless charging.

You'll get up to five hours of listening time with ANC and Bixby voice cues turned on, and a total of 18 hours of use with the help of the charging case. Switch off ANC and hands-free Bixby and those numbers jump up to eight hours and 28 hours, respectively, Samsung claims. Thanks to quick charging support, you can add an hour of listening time after just five minutes of charging.

Samsung says the earbuds will withstand being immersed in three-feet deep water for up to 30 minutes. There's IPX7 water resistance as well.

While this isn't quite the lowest price we've seen for Galaxy Buds Pro, it's not far off. They've dropped to $120 at Woot and $125 at Amazon in the past. Still, it's a good deal on a solid set of earbuds.

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

Now that pandemic restrictions have started lifting, people are eager to go back to the activities they used to do, such as seeing live music performances. Shazam has launched a new feature meant to make it easier to find shows nearby, so music lovers don't miss events they can easily go to. Starting today, when users Shazam a song or search for it in the app or on the website, they'll also see relevant concert information and tickets on sale for upcoming shows near their location.

If they have a specific artist in mind, though, they can simply launch the new Shazam Artist page on the platform and see the dates, times and locations of upcoming performances. Tapping on any of them will show additional tour or show information, along with the ability to add any event to their calendar. Shazam uses information from concert discovery app Bandsintown for this feature, and musicians who want the service to display their event details will have to make the information available via Bandsintown For Artists.

Shazam's new concert feature is now available on iOS and Android. "Shazam has a long history of innovation in music discovery and connecting artists and fans," Apple VP for Apple Music and Beats Oliver Schusser said. "With the reemergence of live music, we're excited to give Shazam users access to concerts and bring even more discoverability to artists." Apple, which purchased Shazam back in 2018, said last year that the app IDs over a billion songs per month. With this feature, Shazam has taken its music discovery service to another level. 

In the coming months, Android phones with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and Snapdragon 888 Mobile Platforms will be able to measure location data to within one meter (approximately three feet). Qualcomm will use long-term collaborator Trimble's RTX GNSS correction services platform to let Android smartphone makers, service providers and app developers harness more accurate location info.

Trimble claims it and Qualcomm will improve Android location accuracy by five times compared with current capabilities. The tech, which will be available in the second quarter of this year, will enable features like lane-level guidance for car navigation systems, Trimble said. It might also help users find their ride-sharing driver more easily and designate more precise destinations.

It's unclear whether existing phones will be able to use more precise location data with this tech. Engadget has contacted Trimble and Qualcomm for clarification.

The prospect of more accurate location data naturally raises questions about privacy. However, you'll still be able to switch off location tracking system wide and for individual apps and delete your location history from the Android OS.

Following last year's GoPro Hero 10 Black and DJI Action 2, it's finally Insta360's turn to bring out its latest action cam — along with a new 4K wide-angle lens to go with it.

The new Insta360 One RS is yet another modular action cam from the company, but this time featuring an upgraded processor to support onboard "FlowState Stabilization" (this used to be handled by the app, which takes time) as well as "Active HDR" video capture — one that is apparently powerful enough to handle action sports without ghosting issues. 

While the One RS looks almost identical to the older One R, the core's touch display has been given a slight facelift: you'll now see a marker for the "quick menu" and another for "instant zoom." Other less visible bonuses include improved WiFi connectivity (for faster file transfers and more stable live preview), as well as an additional mic (for crispier audio capture) and 21-percent more battery.

Insta360

The new "4K Boost Lens" features a larger 1/2-inch 48MP sensor. This can capture 4K 60 fps footage, "6K Widescreen Mode" (6,016 x 2,560) videos at 25/24fps or 1080p clips at up to 200fps. You can get this One RS "4K Edition" kit for $299.99. And if you already own a One R, you'll be pleased to know that this 4K Boost Lens is backwards compatible, pending firmware update. (Speaking of, the new battery base is also backwards compatible, though it won't fit in the old mounting bracket.)

Alternatively, you may also consider the "Twin Edition" kit which adds a 5.7K 360 lens (same specs as before, except for its lighter shade of gray), and this is asking for $549.99. Like before, with the 360 lens, you'll be able to capture spherical videos and photos, and export 2D content with the selfie stick rendered invisible.

If you want the absolute best wide-angle camera mod and don't need a 360 lens, there's a third option: you can bundle the One RS with the good old Leica 1-inch 5.3K lens mod. This also costs $549.99.

Insta360

Launching alongside the One RS is a new easy-release mounting bracket, which allows for quicker lens swapping, better heat dissipation and better mic wind-proofing. You'll also be needing this bracket to ensure that the entire camera is waterproof up to 16 feet (5 meters) deep; or you can get the dive case instead, should you need to go deeper.

Roku has just detailed its first major platform update since it came out with OS 10.5 late last year, and it’s a big one. To start, Roku OS 11 adds an automatic speech clarity setting that Roku promises will make it easier to understand dialogue. At the same time, the update introduces new sound modes – dubbed “Standard,” “Dialogue,” “Movie,” “Music” and “Night” – that you can access by pressing the Star button found on both Roku remotes and the company’s mobile app. As you might have already guessed, these modes allow you to tweak the sound profile of Roku-branded soundbars and speakers to better suit a specific situation.

Roku

And speaking of the Roku app, you’ll also find a new calibration tool within the settings menu to help you sort out audio sync issues that may come up with a Streambar device. Roku has also tweaked the app to make it more visual. For instance, you’ll find new interface elements that will provide you with more information about where you can stream movies and TV shows. The idea here is to help you get the most out of any channels you may pay for.

Outside of audio improvements, OS 11 introduces a feature called Roku Photo Streams. If you want, you can now use your Roku device to turn your TV into a digital picture frame by using the feature to upload your favorite photos and turn them into a screensaver. You can share Photo Streams with friends and family members. And in turn, they can add their own photos, creating a shared album.

Roku

With OS 11, Roku also hopes to make it easier for you to find new content to watch. On the Home Screen Menu, you’ll find a new “What to Watch” section that will point you to movies and TV shows from a variety of sources, including the company’s ad-supported Roku Channel, with personalization based on your watch history and what’s popular among other users. Additionally, the update tweaks the recently introduced Live TV Zone to show content you’ve watched in the past and further aid with the discoverability. Lastly, you’ll find new voice-enabled keyboards to help you with device setup and channel logins. With OS 11, these will be available in Spanish, German and Portuguese in the US and other supported countries.

Roku will begin rolling out OS 11 in the coming weeks.

Mobile gaming has been a huge thing for a decade now but it’s only recently that accessory makers like Razer and Logitech have taken it seriously, offering gaming headsets made especially for phones. On the controller front, however, SteelSeries has been ahead of the curve for some time, selling the Nimbus line of gamepads for Apple devices, and Stratus for Android and everything else. Today the latter gets a big upgrade with the addition of the $60 Nimbus+.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

At first glance it doesn’t seem like a big change for the gamepad; once again we’re looking at a matte black, Xbox-style controller. But this time around, the Nimbus comes with a phone grip in the box: no more buying a separate accessory. The clip is thin when folded, with two long metal prongs that you can push out to plug them into the top of the gamepad. It’s kind of satisfying to slide the clip and not difficult — which is good, because if you screw up you’re likely to scratch the finish on the gamepad, and the matte texture can only do so much to hide it.

In hand, the Nimbus+ is solid and doesn’t feel heavy, even with a phone attached to the top. The clip holds the phone securely, though placement is an issue since I have a Pixel 3, meaning the volume control sits midway on the right side, putting it right under where the clip would grip the phone. So yes, I ended up turning my volume down a lot if I wasn’t careful. That’s probably the hardest part of using the Nimbus+, since connecting via Bluetooth is super easy now.

Kris Naudus / Engadget

I fired up Brawlhalla on my device and started punching and kicking my way through levels. The buttons had satisfying bounce and were incredibly responsive; it’s always nice when the character does what they’re supposed to, especially in a fighting game where timing matters. Poor responsiveness is generally why I shy away from playing most action games on a touchscreen.

Which gets to the bigger question of whether I actually need something like the Nimbus+. I play games on my phone, sure, but it’s usually the kind of stuff I can play one-handed and that doesn’t require a lot of nimble finger work. (I had to download Brawlhalla for testing.) But at least for PC gaming it’s a solid option if you prefer Xbox-style wireless controllers.