Roomba owners have been able to control their vacuums with Alexa voice commands since 2017, but that experience is pretty basic. You can tell your robot vacuum to start and stop cleaning, or to set up a schedule, but the entire interaction is, well, robotic. That changes today with iRobot's latest Alexa Skill, which taps into the company's Genius software platform to deliver smarter and more conversational voice commands.

You'll be able to tell Wi-Fi connected Roombas to clean around specific objects, and you can schedule cleaning jobs without sounding like you're inputting a computer program. As iRobot CEO Colin Angle tells us, the Alexa Skill is one of the most complex ever created. You can even tie a bunch of commands together, even across iRobots vacuums and Bravaa mop. For example, you can shout "Alexa, tell Roomba to clean my dining room every Sunday at 4PM and then run Bravaa."

Additionally, iRobot's devices will also be able to use Alexa speakers to send announcements about cleaning jobs. Sure, the company's app already sends you phone notifications, but it's easy to miss those if you're cleaning up the house while Roomba works. iRobot devices can also tap into Alexa's AI-driven Hunches to start cleaning jobs if it thinks you aren't home. (Hopefully, there'll be plenty of control about how exactly that feature works.)

According to Angle, iRobot has a fundamental belief that you're supposed to be able to talk to your robots, and "do so in a natural and sophisticated fashion." When Amazon was first developing Alexa, he says, one of the earliest concepts discussed was being able to use voice commands to control Roombas. Given iRobot's push towards making its device smarter — the latest Roomba has enough cameras and processing smarts to detect objects, even dog poop — it was only a matter of time until it focused more on voice support.

While iRobot's software platform taps into the maps Roombas create around your floorplans, Angle says the company isn't sharing any data with Amazon. Similarly, he claims iRobot isn't learning anything from Amazon either. Still, the two companies had to work together to ensure that a complex string of voice commands could work properly with Alexa. And looking ahead, iRobot plans to add even more features, like the ability to set a Do Not Disturb time for cleaning jobs.

It'll be interesting to see how much Roomba customers will actually want to talk with their robots. I've used the company's original Alexa skill since it launched, but I still end up starting cleaning jobs from my phone most of the time. I'm also hoping we'll eventually see these voice smarts on platforms other than Amazon's. Angle says the company is working with Google about optimizing its Home skill, but Apple hasn't been as receptive (at least you can get some Siri support with IFTTT).

Apple is introducing another way to ensure its AirTags won't be used for stalking when iOS 15.2 comes out. According to MacRumors, the beta version of the mobile platform that has just come out has a new feature that will let users scan for AirTags that may be tracking their location. At the moment, users can find the feature under the Items tab in the Find My‌ app — all they need to do is tap the "Items That Can Track Me" option to do a scan. 

Any trackable item nearby that belongs to someone else will be detected and show up as an unknown item. Apple will then point users to a set of instructions on how to disable the device that's being used to track them. While it could put people's mind at ease, the new feature could also be a double-edged sword. For users that hide AirTags in bikes, other items thieves could steal and even their pets' collars, this could prevent them from catching the culprit and retrieving their property. The feature might work a lot differently, however, by the time iOS 15.2 is ready for wider rollout.

To note, Apple updated AirTags to address stalking concerns back in June. It adjusted the time period after which the device would play a sound when separated from its owner from three days to a random time between 8 and 24 hours. This experimental feature is an additional privacy measure. 

Another interesting feature that showed up with the beta version of iOS 15.2 is Digital Legacy. It will allow users to designate people as Legacy Contacts, who'll be able to access their account and digital information when they pass away. In the current iteration of the mobile OS, Legacy Contact lives inside Password and Security within the Settings app.

For too long, people with speech impairments have struggled to be understood not only by other people, but also by voice-based technology. Though some companies have started to make their products work better for people with atypical speech, the most prevalent services still don't hear them well. Google announced today that it's made a new Android app called Project Relate that could help people with speech impairments communicate more easily with others and the Assistant. It's looking for beta testers to test and improve the app starting today.

Like product manager for Google Research Julie Cattiau said in a video, "standard speech recognition doesn't always work as well for people with atypical speech because the algorithms have not been trained on samples of their speech." Project Relate would use custom models trained on each individual user's speech patterns. When someone first launches the app, it'll ask them to repeat a few phrases to create a base model and understand the way they speak. 

Then, Project Relate can do three things: Transcribe the user's speech into text that they can copy and paste or show to people on their screen, read out what the user said in a synthesized voice and communicated with the Google Assistant. 

The app is still being tested, with the company saying it will get back applicants for beta testing positions "in the coming months." But this is an important first step towards improving speech recognition for those with atypical speech. 

Soon after the iPhone 13 was released, an iFixit teardown showed that Face ID stopped working if the display was replaced by a third-party repair shop, unless they transferred a microcontroller from the original screen. Apple will soon mitigate the issue with an upcoming software update, so Face ID will still function even without swapping the chip to the new display.

"A solution will be available in an upcoming software update," Apple told Engadget. The Verge first reported on the forthcoming fix.

Moving the microcontroller from the device's original screen to a replacement is no easy feat — iFixit noted a microscope is needed. That may have put independent repair shops outside of Apple's Independent Repair Provider network in a tough spot, since it takes more time and special equipment to replace a screen and swap in the microcontroller.

It's not clear when Apple will roll out the software update to remedy the problem, though questions remain over why the Face ID function broke in the first place if the microcontroller wasn't moved over. The controversy emerged amid a broader push by the US government to strengthen right-to-repair rules.

For years, Microsoft has pushed cheap Windows laptops as the ideal school computers. They can do everything a comparable Chromebook can, while also running traditional Windows software. But now, Microsoft is finally ready to jump into the affordable, kid-friendly PC fray with the $249 Surface Laptop SE. It's one of the first PCs to run Windows 11 SE, a stripped down OS that's targeted at K-8 students (and their beleaguered teachers). You can also expect to see Windows 11 SE devices are coming from Dell, HP, Acer and ASUS, among other PC makers.

Microsoft hasn't had the best luck with Windows variants over the years: Windows 10 S was a limp attempt at delivering a simpler experience for the original Surface Laptop, while the dual-screen focused Windows 10X was eventually cancelled. (Windows 11 basically rose from the ashes of Windows 10 X.) But according to Aaron Woodman, Microsoft's General Manager of Windows, this latest OS is more focused on solving a specific problem: How can Microsoft create the ideal OS experience for students and teachers?

Microsoft

Windows 11 SE attempts to do that by focusing on simplicity. There's no Microsoft Store for installing apps (though IT departments can deploy whatever Win32 and Universal apps they'd like). It's optimized to run on slower hardware. And Microsoft even stripped down the window snapping options by only allowing apps to be on the left or right side of the screen. One of the best parts of Windows 11 is the easy way you can easily shove an app to different corners of your screen, but that's probably too complicated for elementary school-aged kids running notebooks with small screens.

The Surface Laptop SE is similarly basic by design. It's a plastic-shelled notebook that vaguely resembles the Surface Laptop line, especially the previous cheap entry, the $549 Surface Laptop Go. It has an 11.6-inch TFT LCD screen with a 1,366 by 768 resolution — a step above 720p, but below the Laptop Go's sub-1080p display. And don't expect any powerful gear under the hood, as the Surface Laptop SE is limited to dual-core Celeron chips (either the N4020 or N4120), and either 4GB or 8GB of RAM. For storage, there's a choice between 64GB or 128GB eMMC cards.

But really, what else do you expect for a starting price of $249? What's more intriguing about the Surface Laptop SE are the more premium elements that still managed to find their way in. Microsoft brought over the Surface Laptop Go's excellent keyboard and trackpad, as well as its easy-opening lid, Woodman tells us. The Laptop SE also sports a 720p webcam, which is sharper than what we see on most similarly-priced notebooks. And, judging from a brief Teams video chat I had with Dave Alles, General Manager of Surface Laptop SE, its camera and microphone quality are shockingly solid too. (It was easily better than $1,200 laptops I've reviewed.)

Microsoft

For the most part, the Surface Laptop SE appears to be more than enough for a typical grade-school kid. It weighs 2.45 pounds, so it shouldn't be too tough to lug around in tiny backpacks. And its onboard storage, however meager, should be enough to work on Microsoft Office projects offline. Woodman says Microsoft had students without reliable internet access in mind when designing the Laptop SE. They could download assignments at school, work on them at home, and have their work automatically synchronized when they're back in class.

IT departments would likely appreciate the easily accessible screws on the bottom, making it simple to open up and repair notebooks on-site. The Laptop SE's low price should also make it easier for schools to acquire enough units for every student, instead of sharing a handful of PCs in class.

Microsoft

I'm curious to see how well Windows 11 SE performs on the Laptop SE's slow hardware. And a part of me wonders if giving kids a more limited version of Windows will hurt their ability to tinker with PCs when they're older. But as a former IT support jockey, the Surface Laptop SE appears to be the cheap notebook I've always wanted grade-school students to have. Sure, it's not as flexible as the $400 Surface Go 3, but for basic coursework that won't matter too much. And while I liked the Surface Laptop Go, it starts at $549—so schools could buy two Laptop SEs for around the same price. 

At this point, Microsoft is only planning to sell the Laptop SE to schools through education resellers later this year. Normal consumers and businesses won't be able to order them at all. But if it's wildly successful, I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft finds some way to bring this cheap computer to the masses.

Qualcomm is betting it can become a cornerstone in the augmented reality world. The chipmaker has unveiled a Snapdragon Spaces platform that helps developers create apps for "next generation" AR glasses. The toolset includes tech to help understand environments and users (including gesture and hand tracking from the newly acquired HINS), software kits for 3D engines like Unreal, OpenXR support and hooks for platforms like Niantic's Lightship and Unity's AR Foundation.

The ultimate aim is to make AR more accessible. Ideally, developers will make apps directly available to you through mobile app stores, using glasses tethered to smartphones. You might not see Snapdragon Spaces used for stand-alone glasses, at least not at first.

The manufacturer support will be there. Spaces won't be widely available until spring 2022, but Qualcomm has lined up partners like Lenovo (including Motorola), Oppo and Xiaomi. Carriers like T-Mobile and NTT DoCoMo will help build "5G experiences" using Spaces. Lenovo will be the first to make use of the technology, pairing its ThinkReality A3 glasses with an unnamed Motorola phone.

It's too soon to know if Snapdragon Spaces will have a meaningful effect on AR. While this should streamline app work, that will only matter if there are both compelling projects and AR glasses people want to buy. This also won't be much help for iPhone owners waiting on possible Apple AR devices. Efforts like this might lower some of the barriers, though, and it's easy to see a flurry of AR software in the near future.

Twitter is expanding its premium subscription service to more users. Twitter Blue, which unlocks additional features like the ability to “undo” a tweet or browse news without ads, is now available to users in the United States ($2.99/month) and New Zealand ($4.49/month).

The service is designed to appeal to Twitter’s most dedicated power users, with the kind of specialized features that have sometimes appeared in third-party Twitter clients. For example, Twitter Blue comes with an “undo” feature that’s likely the closest thing to an edit button the company will ever make.

A subscription also buys several new customization tools, including the ability to rearrange which features appear as shortcuts in the app’s navigation bar, or the option to choose new color themes and app icons. Subscriptions also buy you early access to new features as Twitter tests them out. For now that includes video upload up to 10 minutes long (videos are capped at 2 minutes for non-paying users) and the ability to pin conversations to the top of your DM inbox. These experimental features “might eventually become available to the rest of Twitter, graduate to a feature of Twitter Blue, or sunset based on feedback we hear from subscribers,” the company says.

Twitter

Notably, the latest iteration of Twitter Blue also comes with two new features powered by the company’s recent acquisition of Scroll, a startup that partnered with publishers to offer ad-free content. Twitter Blue subscribers are now able to access ad-free articles from more than 300 publishers, including The Atlantic, BuzzFeed and Rolling Stone.

It’s somewhat similar to Google’s AMP or Facebook’s Instant Articles in that articles are meant to load quickly and cleanly. But unlike those programs, where readers are directed to stripped down article pages, Twitter Blue articles will still open directly on the publisher’s website. Tony Haile, the former Scroll CEO who now is the senior director of longform at Twitter, says the company is trying to build “win-win partnerships” with publishers who retain “complete control of the experience.”

Though the company hasn’t disclosed the terms of these arrangements, a portion of each Twitter Blue subscription goes directly to publishers, Haile said. And subscribers will also get access to a dashboard in the Twitter app that breaks down your news-reading habits and how much revenue your clicks are bringing to the publishers you read most often. “Our goal is to help each publishing partner make 50% more per person than they would’ve made from serving ads to that person.” Twitter writes in a blog post.

Twitter

Finally, Twitter Blue comes with a “top articles” feature that brings in some functionality from the niche but highly regarded news app Nuzzel, which was shuttered earlier this year. Like the original app, the new “top articles” feature will curate a list of the top stories shared by people in your Twitter network over the last 24 hours. (Former Nuzzel fans will be happy to learn they can pin the new “top articles” section directly to their nav bar from the in-app settings menu.)

The expansion of Twitter Blue comes amid a broader shift for the company, which has been shaking up many of its core features for the first time in its 15-year history. Elsewhere, the company has embraced creator-centric features like Super Follows and Ticketed Spaces, and is building out a newsletter platform. Twitter Blue is different, though, because the company is hoping to draw in its most hardcore users rather than attract new voices to its platform.

But it’s unclear just how many of those users will be willing to pay for those extra features. The company has been testing Twitter Blue in Australia and Canada since early June, but hasn’t shared on early adoption or other metrics for the service, Twitter said Tuesday it will continue to add new features and will be paying close attention to user feedback.

NVIDIA has been steadily advancing its AI assistant technology in recent months, and now it's clear just how all the pieces fit together. The company has introduced Omniverse Avatar (for 3D assistant creation) and Riva (custom AI voice creation) platforms that, combined, lead to surprisingly realistic virtual personas with relatively little effort — or, in one case, deliberately unrealistic.

In one demo, used to highlight NVIDIA's AI-powered Maxine toolkit, the company created an Omniverse Avatar from a woman's photo and used Riva to train the voice based on that woman, convert text to speech and translate to different languages. The digital stand-in looks and sounds much like the real person (aside from a couple of stiff-sounding translations), and can even turn its head while maintaining natural-looking eye contact. As you might imagine, this could lead to more relatable virtual helpers at kiosks and websites.

Another demo, for NVIDIA's Project Tokkio "talking kiosk" reference app, shows what could happen when you created a wholly artificial character. The tech showcase centers on a 3D, ray-traced toy version of CEO Jensun Huang (complete with his signature outfit and a Riva-trained voice) using AI to hold a conversation with real people on subjects like climate change and the role of proteins in the body. Various Omniverse systems animate his face and hands. It's not meant to be highly authentic, of course, but it shows how you can craft a 3D virtual assistant considerably more engaging than a disembodied voice.

Most of the Maxine development kit is already available. Riva is usable now in an open beta, and will be free for "small-scale" work. Larger rollouts will depend on a Riva Enterprise program launching early in 2022. You'll have to wait longer for Omniverse Avatar, though. While the basic Omniverse platform is in open beta now, Avatar is only "under development" with no specified launch date. Still, this points to a future where an airport or favorite restaurant can provide an assistant that's (hopefully) useful without seeming too robotic.

When it comes to improving audio for your wired headphones, a USB DAC (digital to analog converter) can do wonders for sound quality. However, a lot of them are large enough they need to say on your desk. THX built a USB-C version to remedy this, with the tiny Onyx clocking in at about the size of a thumb drive. And the connectivity means you can use it with both your computer or your phone. After only being available through Razer before, THX's DAC is now available through Amazon and it's currently on sale for $50 off the original asking price of $200. 

The THX Onyx supports master-quality audio content and LEDs indicate which format you’re listening to — standard, high resolution, Direct Stream Digital (DSD) and Master Quality Authenticated (MQA). Inside, the Onyx packs a THX AAA-78 amplifier chip: the highest-powered mobile THX Achromatic Audio Amplifier configuration. THX says the AAA-78 makes the Onyx just as powerful as a desktop DAC or amplifier setup, but obviously it's much smaller. The chip reduces three types of distortion by up to 40dB and maximizes output power for more dynamic range and sound pressure level (SPL).

THX's sale on the Onyx runs through November 29th. The discounted price will only be available at Amazon. 

Get the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers by visiting our deals homepage and following @EngadgetDeals on Twitter.

It’s only a payday (or possibly two) away from the holiday season, and with supply difficulties for retailers, manufacturers and everyone in between, it might pay to get ahead of the crowd for some of the most desirable gifts.

While we can’t promise to source you a PS5 or OLED Switch, we’ve got ideas for the game streamer, the creative, the pet parent and more. Naturally, we’ve got camera, laptop and smartphone buying guidance, too. We’re Engadget, after all.

We also have the return of our popular sub-$100 gift selections, along with ideas for stocking stuffers that come in under $50. My pick would be Anker’s tiny Nano II charger. It’s USB-C and ready for high-speed device charging. If you’ve picked up a new phone in the last year and a half, you might have missed the in-box charger. This is probably faster at charging than your years-old Apple charging brick.

— Mat Smith

Zhiyun's three-axis camera gimbal has pretty much everything

Including an LED light, small display and Bluetooth camera control.

Engadget

You’ve probably heard or seen DJI's gimbals, but rival Zhiyun actually carries more models — particularly those designed for mirrorless, DSLR and cinema cameras. Its three-axis Crane M3, designed for mirrorless cameras, is about the size of a water bottle and offers tilt, roll and pan axes, with locks for each. It works with smartphones and, Zhiyun claims, 90 percent of mirrorless cameras. It also has a quarter-inch adapter, so you can connect a professional microphone to an expansion base and run a second cable to the camera. It’s now available to order starting at $369 (£369) for the standard package.

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2021 Security Outcomes Study for Small Businesses

Wind and solar could meet 85 percent of current US electricity needs

Renewable sources may meet most power demands in 'advanced, industrialized nations'.

Wind and solar power could meet around 85 percent of US electricity needs, according to a paper published in Nature Communications. Batteries, capacity overbuilding and other storage options could increase that figure. The report found that most reliable systems, in which wind power is prevalent, can meet energy needs between 72 and 91 percent of the time in the countries they studied, and that's before any storage considerations. Add the capacity to store up to 12 hours of energy, and these renewable energy sources can meet between 83 and 94 percent of hourly energy needs.

There is a caveat though: The researchers noted even when wind and solar sources can power over 90 percent of a region's energy needs, there would still be hundreds of hours per year when demand isn't met.

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Walmart is using driverless trucks to complete a seven-mile delivery loop

It's between a fulfillment center and store in Arkansas.

Walmart

Walmart, working with startup Gatik, has started its fully driverless box truck deliveries between its own locations on a fixed seven-mile loop in Bentonville, Arkansas. The route involves negotiating "intersections, traffic lights and merging on dense urban roads," the companies said.

The new service is part of Walmart's transition to a hub-and-spoke model with warehouses or fulfilment centers closer to customers. This means smaller warehouses, so "there is a growing need for doing repeated trips from the fulfilment centers to the pickup points," Gatik CEO Gautam Narang told CNBC.

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Disney+ will let you watch 'Shang-Chi' and 12 Marvel films in a large IMAX format

You'll see smaller black bars on your TV during IMAX sequences.

You can expect to see Shang-Chi and an array of Marvel movies in movie-theater style large IMAX proportions later this week. The 1.90:1 IMAX aspect ratio will look up to 26 percent taller than the typical 2.35:1 widescreen format in Marvel films, so those annoying black bars will almost disappear while you're watching scenes shot in IMAX. It’s not properly IMAX, which is so square it has enormous black bars on the sides of your TV — see Zack Snyder's Justice League for how that goes.

Shang-Chi will come to the service on November 12th, along with 12 other IMAX-enhanced Marvel movies.

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AMD's first Zen 4 CPUs include a 128-core chip built for the cloud

Ryzen chips for we mere commoners will have to wait.

AMD has unveiled its first processors based on its new Zen 4 architecture, and they promise a lot of brawn... at least for some users. AnandTech notes AMD has outlined its early Zen 4 roadmap during a virtual data center event, and the first two CPU families are Epyc chips, aimed at servers and other heavy-duty computing tasks.

The star of the show may be Bergamo. It's designed for cloud computing and emphasizes core density — AMD is promising up to 128 cores in a single CPU. This beastly chip won’t appear until the first half of 2023.

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