Author Archives: Lawrence Bonk

Acer joins Microsoft, Dell and others in announcing a Copilot+ PC

Posted on by

Acer just announced a new laptop that takes full advantage of Microsoft’s Copilot AI technology, the Swift 14 AI. This is one of the first PCs with Copilot built directly into the system, so you can expect some serious AI bells and whistles.

To that end, there are plenty of new system-wide tools that could radically change how we interact with personal computers. The Recall tool is an amplified search function that lets users find missing files via natural conversation. It’s sort of like an AI Sherlock Holmes, only for misplaced Word documents and the like. You describe any clues you remember about the file and Recall starts sleuthing. That certainly beats typing in the first letter and hoping autocorrect does the rest.

That isn’t the only new way to find stuff. The Swift 14 AI features an explorable timeline, allowing users to scroll through time to get back to apps, documents and messages they previously used. The computer’s built-in AI also allows for real-time translations and speech captions of any live or pre-recorded video. As for the translations, it can turn 44 languages into English.

Being an AI computer, the Acer Swift 14 AI features a built-in way to generate images and text via written prompt. This Cocreator service should be much faster than current methods, as the query won’t have to go to the cloud and back.

All of that stuff is well and good, but built-in AI really shines when it comes to optimization. This computer includes a feature called Auto Super Resolution that automatically upscales graphics resolution and frame refresh rates of games all “without taking a hit on performance.” The Windows Studio Effects toolset uses AI to improve lighting conditions and cancel out unwanted noise during video calls. Finally, there’s a dedicated Copilot key for accessing a myriad of other AI-adjacent features.

A laptop laid flat.
Acer

Of course, this isn’t just a larger version of Humane’s beleaguered AI pin. It’s an actual laptop with the specs to prove it. The Acer Swift 14 AI ships in a light metal chassis and boasts a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor, an integrated NPU that promises up to 45 trillion operations per second and a 14.5-inch WQXGA touch display. Acer also promises all-day battery life, despite the added power. 

The laptop will be available in July, with a starting price of $1,100. You can spec it out with up to 32GB of RAM and and up to 1TB of solid-state storage. It joins a bevy of other Acer laptop models announced or released this year. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/acer-joins-microsoft-dell-and-others-in-announcing-a-copilot-pc-180031939.html?src=rss

This Anker Nano 10K power bank is on sale for just $32

Posted on by

This Anker Nano 10K power bank is on sale for $32 via Amazon. That’s a discount of 20 percent on one of our most recommended chargers. Anker makes good stuff and its products are all over our list of the best power banks.

One of the nifty features of this particular power bank is that it has a USB-C cable built right into the unit, so you won’t ever have to curse yourself when forgetting to bring along an extra. There’s also a handy display that shows the current charging status, which is always a nice add-on.

This thing is called Nano for a reason. It’s tiny, at four inches tall, making it easy to throw in a bag and forget about it until needed. The 10,000mAh capacity is enough to supply around two full charges to a modern smartphone, though results may vary depending on the make and model of your phone.

To that end, this is a USB-C charger, so it’s only useful for the latest Apple iPhone 15 line of smartphones, though it’s good for Android handsets going back years. It’ll be future proof for Apple products, however, as forthcoming iPhones will all be equipped with USB-C ports. The only downside? The battery itself doesn’t provide the fastest charge in the world, but it gets the job done.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-anker-nano-10k-power-bank-is-on-sale-for-just-32-151128977.html?src=rss

This Anker Nano 10K power bank is on sale for just $32

Posted on by

This Anker Nano 10K power bank is on sale for $32 via Amazon. That’s a discount of 20 percent on one of our most recommended chargers. Anker makes good stuff and its products are all over our list of the best power banks.

One of the nifty features of this particular power bank is that it has a USB-C cable built right into the unit, so you won’t ever have to curse yourself when forgetting to bring along an extra. There’s also a handy display that shows the current charging status, which is always a nice add-on.

This thing is called Nano for a reason. It’s tiny, at four inches tall, making it easy to throw in a bag and forget about it until needed. The 10,000mAh capacity is enough to supply around two full charges to a modern smartphone, though results may vary depending on the make and model of your phone.

To that end, this is a USB-C charger, so it’s only useful for the latest Apple iPhone 15 line of smartphones, though it’s good for Android handsets going back years. It’ll be future proof for Apple products, however, as forthcoming iPhones will all be equipped with USB-C ports. The only downside? The battery itself doesn’t provide the fastest charge in the world, but it gets the job done.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/this-anker-nano-10k-power-bank-is-on-sale-for-just-32-151128977.html?src=rss

HBO’s upcoming MoviePass documentary is a must-watch for fans of tech trainwrecks

Posted on by

The rise and fall of MoviePass is one of those stories just begging for the documentary treatment and, well, HBO has got you covered. The platform just set a premiere date of May 29 for MoviePass, MovieCrash, a documentary helmed by filmmaker Muta’Ali and produced by none other than Mark Wahlberg.

The film chronicles the “meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion” of the movie ticket subscription platform, which originally set the world on fire when it first launched back in 2011. However, it wasn’t long before the company realized that the “all you can eat” approach that works so well with gyms and other membership clubs is a weird fit for movie theaters, particularly at the service’s low price point. In just eight years, the company went from the fastest growing subscription service since Spotify to total bankruptcy.

As the trailer shows, the documentary will feature interviews with many of the major players involved in the various stages of MoviePass. This includes original co-founder Stacy Spikes and former CEO Mitch Lowe. There will also be plenty of interviews with journalists who covered the service, FTC personnel and former subscribers. Incidentally, the trailer promises an anecdote in which a customer sent a box of feces to the MoviePass offices, and we don’t want to miss that.

Though premiering on HBO at 9PM ET on May 29, the documentary will also be available on-demand via Max. Director Muta’Ali has made a few good documentaries, including Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn and Cassius X: Becoming Ali.

As for MoviePass, well, it’s a long and complicated story. The app captured the hearts of theater-goers in 2011 by promising unlimited trips to the cinema for a single monthly subscription fee. The love affair didn’t last. The company ceased operations in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Between those dates, there have been reports of wire fraud, securities fraud and significant data breaches, among other outlandish scenarios. In short, it’s perfect fodder for a documentary.

MoviePass is actually still around. Co-founder Spikes recently bought the company’s assets, brought on new investors and re-launched the service. However, the updated pricing model is on the confusing side, with credits and tiers, and seems to have not captured lightning in a bottle for the second time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hbos-upcoming-moviepass-documentary-is-a-must-watch-for-fans-of-tech-trainwrecks-184923511.html?src=rss

HBO’s upcoming MoviePass documentary is a must-watch for fans of tech trainwrecks

Posted on by

The rise and fall of MoviePass is one of those stories just begging for the documentary treatment and, well, HBO has got you covered. The platform just set a premiere date of May 29 for MoviePass, MovieCrash, a documentary helmed by filmmaker Muta’Ali and produced by none other than Mark Wahlberg.

The film chronicles the “meteoric rise and stranger-than-fiction implosion” of the movie ticket subscription platform, which originally set the world on fire when it first launched back in 2011. However, it wasn’t long before the company realized that the “all you can eat” approach that works so well with gyms and other membership clubs is a weird fit for movie theaters, particularly at the service’s low price point. In just eight years, the company went from the fastest growing subscription service since Spotify to total bankruptcy.

As the trailer shows, the documentary will feature interviews with many of the major players involved in the various stages of MoviePass. This includes original co-founder Stacy Spikes and former CEO Mitch Lowe. There will also be plenty of interviews with journalists who covered the service, FTC personnel and former subscribers. Incidentally, the trailer promises an anecdote in which a customer sent a box of feces to the MoviePass offices, and we don’t want to miss that.

Though premiering on HBO at 9PM ET on May 29, the documentary will also be available on-demand via Max. Director Muta’Ali has made a few good documentaries, including Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn and Cassius X: Becoming Ali.

As for MoviePass, well, it’s a long and complicated story. The app captured the hearts of theater-goers in 2011 by promising unlimited trips to the cinema for a single monthly subscription fee. The love affair didn’t last. The company ceased operations in 2019 and filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Between those dates, there have been reports of wire fraud, securities fraud and significant data breaches, among other outlandish scenarios. In short, it’s perfect fodder for a documentary.

MoviePass is actually still around. Co-founder Spikes recently bought the company’s assets, brought on new investors and re-launched the service. However, the updated pricing model is on the confusing side, with credits and tiers, and seems to have not captured lightning in a bottle for the second time.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hbos-upcoming-moviepass-documentary-is-a-must-watch-for-fans-of-tech-trainwrecks-184923511.html?src=rss

Sony’s new smartphone could entice shutterbugs away from Apple and Google

Posted on by

Sony used to be a fairly major player in the smartphone space, but its offerings never quite made a splash in the US. Despite that, the company has been pumping out yearly refreshes of its Xperia line of smartphones and the just-announced Xperia 1 VI looks like the perfect device for both amateur and professional photographers. Sony, after all, is no slouch when it comes to cameras.

The sixth-generation of the company’s flagship smartphone is filled with so many camera-centric features that it could actually lure people away from rival iPhone and Pixel devices. There’s a true optical zoom, AI-assisted autofocus and a telephoto camera for snapping macro shots.

This breaks down to three cameras on the back, in the form of a 24mm main camera with a 48-megapixel Sony Exmor T sensor, a 16mm ultrawide and the aforementioned 85-170mm variable zoom telephoto camera. That last one provides 3.5x to 7.1x magnification when compared to the main camera. The ladybug in your yard is begging for its closeup.

As for that AI-assisted autofocus, Sony touts a technology called “human pose estimation” that can recognize a person’s body and head position to provide the perfect focus. The camera system also supports filming video in 4K HDR at 120fps. All of these features work together within Sony’s new unified camera app, so people don’t have to constantly jump between different software to get the job done.

Of course, this is a smartphone and not just a bunch of cameras attached to a rectangle. The Xperia 1 VI boasts the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 12GB of RAM and a choice between 256GB and 512GB of storage. Sony says the integrated 5,000mAh battery should allow for up to two days of use before requiring a charge. To that end, the device supports both 15W wireless charging and wireless battery sharing to other devices.

There is an OLED display which is nice, but it’s 2220 x 1080 and the Xperia V shipped with a 4K screen. The aspect ratio gets a hit here too, downsizing from 21:9 to 19.5:9. This display does now offer a variable refresh rate between 1Hz to 120Hz, however, and it can achieve a 50 percent higher peak brightness when compared to last year’s model. Also, 4K resolution on a phone screen is kind of unnecessary and this thing can shoot in 4K, which is what really matters.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI is available for preorders now in the UK, starting at the jaw-dropping asking price of $1,640 in US dollars. There’s some more bad news for US consumers. Unlike previous versions, the company has no current plans to bring this phone stateside.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-new-smartphone-could-entice-shutterbugs-away-from-apple-and-google-180755649.html?src=rss

Sony’s new smartphone could entice shutterbugs away from Apple and Google

Posted on by

Sony used to be a fairly major player in the smartphone space, but its offerings never quite made a splash in the US. Despite that, the company has been pumping out yearly refreshes of its Xperia line of smartphones and the just-announced Xperia 1 VI looks like the perfect device for both amateur and professional photographers. Sony, after all, is no slouch when it comes to cameras.

The sixth-generation of the company’s flagship smartphone is filled with so many camera-centric features that it could actually lure people away from rival iPhone and Pixel devices. There’s a true optical zoom, AI-assisted autofocus and a telephoto camera for snapping macro shots.

This breaks down to three cameras on the back, in the form of a 24mm main camera with a 48-megapixel Sony Exmor T sensor, a 16mm ultrawide and the aforementioned 85-170mm variable zoom telephoto camera. That last one provides 3.5x to 7.1x magnification when compared to the main camera. The ladybug in your yard is begging for its closeup.

As for that AI-assisted autofocus, Sony touts a technology called “human pose estimation” that can recognize a person’s body and head position to provide the perfect focus. The camera system also supports filming video in 4K HDR at 120fps. All of these features work together within Sony’s new unified camera app, so people don’t have to constantly jump between different software to get the job done.

Of course, this is a smartphone and not just a bunch of cameras attached to a rectangle. The Xperia 1 VI boasts the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 12GB of RAM and a choice between 256GB and 512GB of storage. Sony says the integrated 5,000mAh battery should allow for up to two days of use before requiring a charge. To that end, the device supports both 15W wireless charging and wireless battery sharing to other devices.

There is an OLED display which is nice, but it’s 2220 x 1080 and the Xperia V shipped with a 4K screen. The aspect ratio gets a hit here too, downsizing from 21:9 to 19.5:9. This display does now offer a variable refresh rate between 1Hz to 120Hz, however, and it can achieve a 50 percent higher peak brightness when compared to last year’s model. Also, 4K resolution on a phone screen is kind of unnecessary and this thing can shoot in 4K, which is what really matters.

The Sony Xperia 1 VI is available for preorders now in the UK, starting at the jaw-dropping asking price of $1,640 in US dollars. There’s some more bad news for US consumers. Unlike previous versions, the company has no current plans to bring this phone stateside.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-new-smartphone-could-entice-shutterbugs-away-from-apple-and-google-180755649.html?src=rss

Activision forms a studio to develop a brand-spanking new IP

Posted on by

Activision just announced that it's working on a brand-new IP, with a mission “to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.” To help steward this mysterious franchise into the world, the company has opened up a new internal studio called Elsewhere Entertainment.

The team is headquartered in Warsaw, which is where CD Projekt Red cooks up The Witcher and Cyberpunk games, with assistance from a smaller US-based group. The company hasn’t given one ounce of detail regarding the IP itself, just saying that Elsewhere is “dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas” and that it has “full access to Activision’s resources and tools.”

The developer has suggested the final release will be a “next-gen” experience, but didn’t say whether that meant today’s next-gen or whatever consoles are coming down the pike in the next few years. This will likely be a story-driven game, as Activision has hired up folks who worked on The Last of Us, the Uncharted franchise, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. If you have a decent resume and a hankering to work on a new IP, here’s a likely-related job posting.

A new studio means new hires, which is great news for an industry plagued by layoffs. As a matter of fact, the formation of Elsewhere comes just over one week after Activision’s parent company Microsoft closed three Bethesda studios. This is also happening a couple of months after Toys for Bob, another Activision studio, spun off into an indie. In any event, we’ll let you know when the company drops some concrete information about the franchise itself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/activision-forms-a-studio-to-develop-a-brand-spanking-new-ip-164001419.html?src=rss

Activision forms a studio to develop a brand-spanking new IP

Posted on by

Activision just announced that it's working on a brand-new IP, with a mission “to craft a franchise with an enduring legacy that resonates far beyond games.” To help steward this mysterious franchise into the world, the company has opened up a new internal studio called Elsewhere Entertainment.

The team is headquartered in Warsaw, which is where CD Projekt Red cooks up The Witcher and Cyberpunk games, with assistance from a smaller US-based group. The company hasn’t given one ounce of detail regarding the IP itself, just saying that Elsewhere is “dedicated to establishing an environment that inspires bold and diverse ideas” and that it has “full access to Activision’s resources and tools.”

The developer has suggested the final release will be a “next-gen” experience, but didn’t say whether that meant today’s next-gen or whatever consoles are coming down the pike in the next few years. This will likely be a story-driven game, as Activision has hired up folks who worked on The Last of Us, the Uncharted franchise, Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. If you have a decent resume and a hankering to work on a new IP, here’s a likely-related job posting.

A new studio means new hires, which is great news for an industry plagued by layoffs. As a matter of fact, the formation of Elsewhere comes just over one week after Activision’s parent company Microsoft closed three Bethesda studios. This is also happening a couple of months after Toys for Bob, another Activision studio, spun off into an indie. In any event, we’ll let you know when the company drops some concrete information about the franchise itself.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/activision-forms-a-studio-to-develop-a-brand-spanking-new-ip-164001419.html?src=rss

8Bitdo’s Ultimate Controller with charging dock is back on sale for $56

Posted on by

8BitDo makes some of our most beloved third-party game controllers. They work with just about everything and they’re well-built. Right now, you can scoop up a bundle with an 8BitDo Ultimate Controller and a charging dock for $56 via Amazon. That’s almost a record-low price and the cheapest we’ve seen this particular controller combo since earlier this year.

We called this controller the “last gamepad” most people will “need to buy for Switch and PC.” There’s no stick drift, thanks to the use of magnets and “hall effect” sensors instead of traditional potentiometers. This gamepad should stick around for the long haul. We also loved the Bluetooth functionality, especially when using the controller with portable devices like the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck.

There’s a neat little mobile app for customization, which can adjust the sensitivity of the joysticks, triggers and haptic vibrations. Of course, this app also allows users to remap the buttons, add macros and create unique settings profiles. If mobile isn’t your bag, this can all be done on PC.

The charging dock powers up via USB-C and doubles as a storage container for the included USB wireless dongle. The gamepad can connect over this dongle, Bluetooth or a USB-C cable. Pairing is simple, with a mostly plug-and-play experience.

The battery life is decent, though not spectacular. This controller gets around 20 hours per charge. The only real downside here is the original $70 asking price, which is the same as a Switch Pro controller. This issue has been alleviated by this discount, as $56 is pretty much the sweet spot for a high-grade third-party controller.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/8bitdos-ultimate-controller-with-charging-dock-is-back-on-sale-for-56-150938138.html?src=rss