DJI Neo hands-on: A powerful and lightweight $200 drone

Posted on 05/09/2024 by Steve Dent

DJI has just unveiled the Neo, its much-leaked $200 drone aimed at content creators and casual users. It’s tiny and easy to use thanks to novice-friendly features like propeller guards, palm takeoff and voice control.

However, the Neo is no toy (or Snap Pixy). It has a suite of powerful features like ActiveTrack, Quick Shots, FPV controller support, smartphone control and the ability to record yourself with the DJI Mic 2.

Video specs look promising as well, but not everything is perfect — it lacks obstacle detection and uses small propellers that are likely to be noisy. I wasn’t able to give it a full look as some features were missing, but I was still astonished by what DJI got a small, cheap drone to do.

The Neo is DJI’s lightest drone by a long way at 135 grams and is nearly small enough to fit into a pocket. That tiny size also means it's exempt from FAA registration and doesn't require a drone pilot permit.

It also has a feature we’ve not seen on the company’s drones before: a second button near the camera gimbal that lets you choose from different “Smart Shot” modes (Quick Shots on other DJI drones), like Follow and Dronie.

It comes with removable propeller guards that provide protection for use indoors and around people. Be careful when you fly, though, as there’s no obstacle avoidance apart from the main camera’s AI and a downward facing IR landing sensor.

The camera gimbal can tilt up 60 degrees and down 90, though it doesn’t flip for vertical video. The half-inch 12-megapixel sensor has an ultra-wide angle 13mm equivalent focal length with an f/2.8 aperture — good specs for a drone in this price range.

The Neo’s 1,435mAh lithium-ion battery is incredibly light but supports up to 17 minutes of fly time, or around 13 to 14 minutes in the real world. The small size means they charge quickly, but most users will want the two extra cells and a charger included in the Neo Combo kit.

To charge the batteries and transfer footage, there’s a USB-C port on the back. You won’t find a microSD card slot, though, as the Neo relies on 22GB of internal storage that holds about 40 minutes of 4K 30p footage.

DJI Neo hands-on: A powerful and lightweight $200 drone

Though small, the Neo offers features you’d expect on a high-end drone. To make it less intimidating for beginners, the Neo can be launched simply by placing it in hand and pressing the mode button. Then, it’ll automatically record video while performing one of six preprogrammed smart shots: Follow, Dronie, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight and Direction Track. To land the drone, just place your hand under it.

Settings can be tweaked with the new DJI Fly app, which now works without a controller and connects to the drone over Wi-Fi. For the smart modes, you can change things like follow distance and height, dronie radius and flight path, circle radius and more. You can also adjust video and photo resolution.

The Neo is DJI’s first model that lets you use voice control to launch the drone and perform Smart Shots and other actions. That feature wasn’t available in the beta software I tested, but DJI said it will be there when the drone goes on sale today.

If you want to pilot the drone yourself without buying a controller, that’s doable now too. Manual mode brings up touch screen controls for all drone movements, along with camera/video modes and a return-to-home (RTH) toggle.

Touchscreen piloting worked surprisingly well, letting me fly the Neo with precision. Outdoors with a GPS lock the drone is quite stable, but it can drift around and get a bit hard to manage indoors.

For more precision, the Neo also supports multiple DJI controllers, including the RC N3 model sold separately. However, you can also use it as an FPV drone by connecting it to DJI’s RC Motion 3 and DJI Goggles 3.

Controller mode offers the same features you’ll find on drones like the Mini 4 Pro, with cinema, normal and sport modes, manual and auto video, quick shot features and more. Using it with the FPV goggles and controller gives you the same experience as the Avata 2, including one-press acrobatics — albeit with a large drop in performance, of course.

And the Neo performs surprisingly well. Maximum horizontal speed in sport mode is 18 mph, or 36 mph in manual mode — pretty damn fast for such a tiny drone. However, manual mode is only available if you’re using the FPV Controller 3 and wasn’t enabled for my testing.

The Neo neo can resist winds up to 18 mph, compared to 24 mph for the Mini 4 Pro. Realistically, though, it’s only good for light winds under 10 mph.

It’s maneuverable and precise as well, particularly with the optional controller. That makes it ideal for events, as it’s very safe around people and small enough to fit in tight spaces. It is very noisy though, with a sound not unlike a hive of angry bees. “This propeller noise is a crime,” as my colleague Aaron Souppouris put it.

The Neo happens to be an awesome FPV drone as well, particularly since there’s less fear of crashing given its $200 price. It’s not nearly as fast as the Avata 2, of course, but it’s wildly fun when using the RC Motion 3 remote.

ActiveTrack, Spotlight and Point of Interest (POI) all work the same as on other DJI drones to track subjects tenaciously. Another mode, Direction Track, lets you vlog while walking and talking with the drone keeping your face in view. There’s no rear obstacle sensor, though, so you need to be careful when using it.

When the Neo is under smartphone Wi-Fi control, don’t let it get too far away as the maximum range is just 165 feet. With a controller and DJI’s O4 transmission, though, it has a 6.2 mile line-of-sight range in the US or about 3.7 miles in Europe. That’s impressive given the size, though you’d be braver than me if you let it get that far away.

The Neo supports up to 4K 30p video and 1080p at up to 60 fps, with no D-LogM like the Mini 4 Pro. You can also grab 12-megapixel photos for Instagram, Facebook, etc. Video isn’t up with even the DJI Mini 4 Pro, but it’s well above what you’d expect for something in this price range in terms of sharpness and color accuracy. With the small sensor, low-light capability isn’t great.

Stabilization is excellent thanks to DJI’s RockSteady and HorizonBalancing systems. Those offer action cam-like stability, while correcting tilt up to 45 degrees. Again, I was pretty amazed by the smoothness of footage even in a stiff breeze.

Finally, you can record audio via your smartphone’s microphone just by tapping on the DJI Fly app’s audio record button. And you can boost the quality considerably using the DJI Mic 2 by connecting it to your phone over Bluetooth. Though the drone is extremely noisy, DJI’s app manages to remove almost all of it, leaving your voice shockingly clear and legible with some distortion.

DJI’s Neo is an incredibly capable lightweight drone that will be attractive to a large number of potential users. For example, my drone pilot and photographer friend (a likely buyer) thought it would be ideal as a behind the scenes drone, because it can shoot good-quality video around people with no risk of injury.

It’s also a great drone for vloggers, content creators and recreational users on a budget. It executes cool shots automatically and the image quality is at the level of a smartphone, which is easily good enough for social media. The main problem is the noise, though all drones have that issue to some extent.

The most exciting part of the Neo is the price. For $200, or $289 in the combo kit with three batteries and a charger (in Europe you can get it with the RC-N3 controller for €349), it’s an incredible value considering the capabilities. It doesn’t really have any serious competition either, with the closest being the $350 HoverAir X1, which costs more and shoots lower resolution video. With all that, the Neo is DJI’s most exciting drone in years and is likely to be another hit. It's now on pre-order with shipping set to start soon.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/dji-neo-hands-on-a-powerful-and-lightweight-200-drone-130039169.html?src=rss

The best horror games to play in 2025

Posted on 05/09/2024 by Engadget

Are you tired of feeling safe and happy all the time? Is your daily life overrun by feelings of security, contentment and peace? Do you want an escape from all of the oppressive niceness around you? Well, look no further — these are the games for you.

Here, we’ve collected more than a dozen of the most evocative and disturbing horror games in recent memory. These selections cover a wide range of genres and styles, but each one comes with at least a tinge of unsettling terror. So take a peek, find your game, and prepare your skeleton for some fresh air because you’re about to jump out of your skin.

Best horror games

Check out our entire Best Games series including the best Nintendo Switch games, the best PS5 games, the best Xbox games, the best PC games and the best free games you can play today.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/best-horror-games-120029388.html?src=rss

Roku’s new feature will turn your TV into a fancy art delivery system

Posted on 04/09/2024 by Danny Gallagher

When you’re not watching Barkitecture or the Weird Al movie on your Roku, the device turns on its familiar scrolling, purple city-scape. Now you don’t just have to settle for a Flintstones-esque background of neoclassical buildings and the occasional billboard for PlutoTV when your Roku goes into rest mode. The TV viewing platform is introducing a new screensaver feature called Backdrops.

The new viewing feature turns your TV or viewing device into an Amazon Echo Show 8 Photos Edition, except Roku hasn’t taken away the only feature that gave it its name. Backdrops will show pictures of classic works of art by masters like Claude Monet and beautiful photos of landscapes that you can choose to display on your Roku device. The new Backdrops feature will start appearing on Roku-branded TVs and third-party Roku TVs in the next few weeks while customers with Roku streaming players and streambars will have to wait until the fall.

Roku's new Backdrops feature offering thousands of images of landscapes from around the world.

There are thousands of works of art and photos to choose from and even include descriptions so you can learn a little art history and geography while you’re vegging out in front of your TV. It’s not like you were doing anything important anyway on your couch on those sweatpants you don’t even wear outside when you’re taking out the garbage.

Roku’s Backdrops doesn’t just limit your choices to what it has to offer. You can also upload your own photos to your Roku account on the website from your computer and connect your Google Photos collection to your Roku. Backdrops can basically turn your boring wall into a museum if the entire museum could move around you to each work of art instead of the other way around.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/rokus-new-feature-will-turn-your-tv-into-a-fancy-art-delivery-system-214841525.html?src=rss

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom plays like a traditional Zelda game, remixed

Posted on 04/09/2024 by Nathan Ingraham

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom feels like a kindred spirit to the 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening, both in challenge and in vibes. It’s a far cry from the incredibly intricate and complex worlds in Tears of the Kingdom, and while I only played for about 90 minutes (spread over two different parts of the game),I came away from the demo charmed by the gorgeous, tilt-shift art style. Not to mention being quite pleased to finally be playing as Zelda for the first time in the series that bears her damn name. And while plenty of adults will surely enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it also feels tailor-made as an entry point for younger players.

We already knew about the art style and playing as Zelda — what was most important about this preview was that I got a chance to see just how Zelda’s “echoes” worked in the game itself. As you’d expect, there’s a gentle tutorial that shows you the ropes. My playthrough started not long into the game, with Zelda imprisoned; my first challenge was finding a way to sneak her out of the dungeon. Fortunately, Zelda is equipped with the Tri Rod, a tool that lets her clone objects and beasts alike. Shimmering objects on the screen can be saved as echoes, the first of which was a humble crate. Once you learn an echo, you can summon it with a tap of a button — but echoes use up power so you can only have a few on the screen at once. Along with the Tri Rod is a little spectral creature Tri who helps you along and indicates how much power you have to make echoes at any given time.

I was surprised at how many random things I could turn into echoes and how useful they ended up being. After learning the crate, I also learned how to create an “old bed” — something that doesn’t provide as much height as the crate, but is long enough to span small chasms. Making three of them on top of each other made for a solid little bridge.

But you can’t fight off enemies with a crate — that’s where learning echoes of monsters comes in. The first bad guy I encountered was defeated by clobbering it with a boulder. But after that, I was able to summon the same gelatinous little bad guy with the Tri Rod and sic him on other enemies. Beating more monsters greatly expands your attacking capabilities. I soon took down a Keese, which I could then use to attack other aerial baddies. I further expanded my arsenal by taking down a spear-throwing Moblin and a powerful knight who has a wicked swing attack.

I’m very much looking forward to seeing what other echoes you can learn throughout the adventure and how you can combine them to bizarre and hilarious effect. For example, I was able to learn an echo for a trampoline, and then drop a Moblin on it and have him bounce up to a higher level in a dungeon to go after enemies up there. I’m sure that there are going to be a ton of wacky and creative ways that people combine echoes, especially as Zelda’s capabilities grow and you’re able to have more on the screen at one time. It’s not nearly as complex as the Ultrahand ability from Tears of the Kingdom, but it does allow players to figure out puzzle solutions in a variety of ways — there won’t always be a “right” way but there may be lots of ways to get the job done.

Zelda also has a “bind” ability, which lets her attach herself to objects that then follow her movements. The example of this shown off in a recent trailer is a great intro to the new power: after grabbing a giant boulder, you can just walk “down” the screen; the boulder follows and is then perched over a chasm that you can drop it into, clearing the path forward. You can also bind yourself to moving objects, like floating platforms, and grab a ride along with them.

Sometimes, though, just relying on echoes to do your dirty work for you won’t be enough. Fortunately, Zelda picks up a crucial new ability in the first dungeon I played: the ability to switch into “swordfighter” mode. To do this, I had to beat up a possessed version of Link, who you might remember as the hero in literally every other Zelda game. Once you defeat this pseudo-link, Zelda is outfitted with a cute shield and sword and can attack enemies head-on. The only catch is that she can only stay in this mode for a limited time. If you run out of power, you’ll need to grab crystals from downed enemies to refresh yourself and switch modes again.

This adds a fun way to get some of the classic Zelda experience in this game, but with a time constraint to make sure players don’t abuse it. Further complicating things is that you can’t use echoes when you’re wielding a sword, so you’ll need to pick your sports. The boss at the end of the Suthorn Ruins dungeon I played through was a great example of how you can use your powers in concert — using echoes and the bind ability, I was able to make the cartoonishly menacing Seismic Talus vulnerable, and then I switched to sword mode and walloped it until I took it down.

While most of my demo took place in the aforementioned dungeon, I was able to explore a relatively small slice of Hyrule. Rest assured, this map is quite different from other versions of Hyrule you’ve explored, though there are some classic traits from other games (mountains to the north, a castle smack in the center, a beach to the south). What I saw was colorful and vibrant, and tailor-made to using your echoes to get around more efficiently.

As for difficulty, this feels like one of the most approachable Zelda games I’ve played in a while — but it’ll present some challenges of its own. The first dungeon was short and sweet, but I did die a few times while I tried to figure out which echoes I needed to combat some powerful enemies. Similarly, the environmental puzzles aren’t too tough, but they differ significantly from other games because you need to use echoes to solve them. For me, it wasn’t always obvious what solution the game was pushing me towards. But I think that was primarily because I often forgot about some of the echoes I had at my disposal. Once I remembered the right tools, the solution was pretty evident.

Probably the biggest challenge that I can see is going to be managing all of those echoes. At the end of the demo, I had picked up more than a dozen, and the linear menu system that I used to switch between them could get extremely unwieldy once that list grows. If you’ve played Tears of the Kingdom, it’s similar to the menu you use to choose an item to attach to an arrow before you fire it, another pretty unwieldy system. I believe you can access different echoes through the pause menu, sort of like selecting weapons or items in the Zelda games of old, but I didn’t spend too much time messing around with such things.

From what I’ve seen so far, Echoes of Wisdom is simultaneously a throwback and a new adventure. The top-down presentation and overall vibe remind me of plenty of old Zelda games besides the obvious Link’s Awakening comparison. But the gameplay is completely different in a way that should provide experienced players with a totally different challenge, and the lower difficulty level will make it, along with Link’s Awakening, a great first Zelda game for younger adventurers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-plays-like-a-traditional-zelda-game-remixed-130053301.html?src=rss

The GoPro Hero 13’s biggest upgrades are on the outside

Posted on 04/09/2024 by Mat Smith

GoPro’s latest action cam has officially broken cover, after a few leaks spoiled some of the surprises. With the Hero 13 Black, the company is bolstering its position as the go-to action cam with more versatility and features aimed at high-level users who’ve probably owned a GoPro or two for years. GPS is back, the battery is bigger and there are upgrades to slow-motion capture and more, but the big news might be outside of the camera unit itself.

The biggest upgrade may be the new family of modular lenses it’s calling the HB Series. In addition to ultra-wide, anamorphic (unfortunately not ready for testing) and macro, GoPro is introducing an ND (neutral density) filter four-pack, aimed at amping up motion blur.

GoPro Hero 13 Black lenses and ND filters

If you’re a GoPro fan, you’re probably aware that the company has already dabbled in filters with the Max Lens Mods for the Hero 12, but the company has taken it a lot further here. All the new HB-Series lenses are waterproof and compatible with GoPro’s HyperSmooth video processing. Crucially for non-professionals, the Hero 13 Black will automatically adjust camera settings, including resolution, frame rate and even your Protune settings to match what's attached. This means you may be locked out of certain capture modes, frame rates or resolutions if the lens isn’t compatible. But that’s preferable to recording something special with a lens, only to discover afterward that it looks like a mess or cropped the best parts out.

Depending on how you plan to use your new GoPro, some lenses will offer more utility than others. While I’ve only had the camera for a few days, the Ultra Wide Lens ($100) seems like the most tempting addition. With a new 1:1 aspect ratio, it means you can decide whether your video is vertical or horizontal after capture. The lens expands the field of view to 177 degrees and can still capture 4K at 60fps. During my testing, I liked the flexibility to use footage in both orientations, and not having to fuss so much about framing.

If you’re looking at the Hero 13 Black as an additional camera for interesting cutaway shots and close-ups, the Macro Lens ($130) might tempt you. With a minimal focus distance of 11cm (4.3 inches), that’s four times closer than the GoPro’s original lens. This lens also includes its own rotating ring to hone in on the right focal length. (There’s even a focus peaking option, hidden away in Protune settings).

During GoPro’s presentation, it was the Anamorphic Lens Mod ($130) I was most intrigued by, but I’ll have to wait to test that out. Able to capture video with a 21:9 aspect ratio, it’s pitched as a lens for “professional-level artistic filmmaking.”

The footage is de-squeezed while being captured, making for easier editing. (De-squeezing is the process of correcting any oval-shaped image distortion caused by anamorphic lenses.) I like the notion of an action-cam cropping those mushy stretched edges for punchier footage. Plus, it’ll capture lens flares, too.

When it came to ND filters, I found them challenging to work with in the past, even when they were built into traditional cameras. This is where GoPro’s auto-detection makes a lot of sense. Alongside adjustments to shutter speed to suit the filter and available light, the Hero 13 Black will even indicate arrows if it thinks a stronger (or weaker) ND filter would be better within the four-pack ($70). However, you can’t combine these HD-series accessories, so you can’t use an ND filter with the Macro lens, for example. There’s a new “AutoCinematic” shutter option to optimize motion blur while holding onto image stabilization, while a Motion Blur Protune option lets you tweak exactly how much blur you want.

So what about the camera itself? The Hero 13 Black has a 10-percent bigger battery than its predecessor and can capture around one and a half hours of 4K video at 30fps. There’s also improved thermal performance both when it’s static or moving with airflow. GoPro says the new camera has longer runtimes in both hot and cold environments, claiming that some of the biggest improvements will come if you’re used to capturing in 10-bit video, another nod to pro users.

GoPro has boosted ultra-slow-motion capture to 400 frames per second at 720p resolution. However, this is burst capture, limited to 15 seconds of real-time recording. At its maximum resolution of 5.3K, the Hero 13 Black can capture 120fps for up to five seconds. The Hero 13 Black also supports Hybrid Log Gamma (HLG), an industry-standard HDR format that should yield the highest dynamic range yet on GoPro video.

As I teased earlier, GPS is back, too. This means you’ll be able to search for footage based on location, but the camera can capture telemetry data like speed, path and altitude, pulling that data into your video file. You can then bring this stuff to life with overlay graphics added through GoPro’s Quik app.

There are a lot of smaller, useful UI improvements and upgrades. I won’t touch on all of them, but the most notable may be compatibility with AirPods and other wireless headphones over Bluetooth. The Hero 13 black can capture sounds in a Standard Audio Mode, what GoPro calls “balanced, true-to-life sound,” or there’s a Voice Audio Mode to prioritize speech. With WiFi 6 compatibility, you can also transfer your videos and shots up to 40 percent faster to your smartphone. That’s a true quality-of-life upgrade you’ll notice immediately if you’ve ever had to wait around for files to transfer from action cams (or any camera) over WiFi.

If you’re used to extended shooting (or time-lapse capture), the Hero 13 Black’s new Contacto magnetic door and power cable could be very useful, too. With a pogo-pin style latch, the cable can charge or power the camera from external USB-C battery packs or an adapter plugged into the wall. Notably, it will power the camera even if there’s no battery inside.

GoPro has also decided to add a third mount, a magnetic latch system that works with several new mounts (sold separately). If you’re not here for the peripheral upsell, however, there are still fold-down mounting fingers for extra-secure installation and the standard 1/4-20 mounting threads for your existing tripods and mounts. I love the new magnetic mounts, but now I want one for my tripod, one with a clamp, one for everything. (In the company’s defense, its newest camera is compatible with over 60 GoPro mounts and accessories. It has identical proportions to the Hero 12 Black.)

If you were hoping for a 1-inch sensor you’ll have to wait a little longer. Current GoPro users may be slightly disappointed by what seems to be the same camera sensor. Many devotees online hoped for a larger sensor to boost low-light performance and picture quality. A lot of the upgrades and additions here seem aimed at high-level users, but it’s those same people hoping for a substantial hardware upgrade beneath all the UI improvements and peripheral additions.

The Hero 13 Black is priced at $400 for the standalone camera, while a Creator Edition ($600) bundles the camera with a Volta Power Grip, Media Mod and Light Mod. The company has teased more bundles that will combine its new camera with lenses and other accessories.

All are available for preorder today at GoPro.com and will ship on September 10.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/gopro-hero-13-black-release-date-price-hands-on-impressions-130027978.html?src=rss

Samsung’s Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 Windows Copilot+ laptop supports Android AI features

Posted on 04/09/2024 by Steve Dent

Samsung has launched its new line of Galaxy Book5 laptops with the Pro 360, a Copilot+ enabled Windows 11 PC with Intel's latest Core 2 CPU and Arc GPU. Unusually, it also supports some Android AI features like Circle to Search with Google that work by connecting the PC to a smartphone.

Intel's latest Core Ultra processor (Series 2) provides the needed Copilot+ performance with four times the NPU (neural processing unit) power of its predecessor. It also uses Intel's Arc GPU to run Samsung's "most premium PC display." That display uses Dynamic AMOLED 2X tech that improves outdoor visibility, while offering 3K resolution and a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate.

The new chips also help the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 deliver up to 25 hours of video playback and the battery can be charged back up quickly (35 percent in 30 minutes). It also features Wi-Fi 7 support, Dolby Atmos and more.

Samsung's Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 is its first laptop with Copilot+

It's the AI features that Samsung wants to spotlight, though. Along with Copilot+, the new model uses Microsoft Phone Link to connect to "select mobile devices and bring Galaxy AI's intelligent features to a larger display," Samsung wrote.

Some of those AI features include Circle to Search with Google, a feature that uses AI to provide more info about text, an image or anything else you circle with your finger or touch on a webpage. Others include Chat assist (providing suggested replies to conversations), Live Translate and Transcript Assist, which converts recorded meetings to written notes and summaries.

It's not clear exactly how those features will work, as they're primarily intended for mobile use. However, it looks like you have to link the Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 to a supported mobile device like Samsung's Galaxy S24 or Pixel phones which support Circle to Search and other features. In the press release footnotes, Samsung says that the features may be limited to certain smartphone models, markets and Android versions.

The Galaxy Book5 Pro 360 will be available in select markets including Canada, France, Germany, the UK and the US starting in September, but no pricing has been released.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/samsungs-galaxy-book5-pro-360-windows-copilot-laptop-supports-android-ai-features-123046679.html?src=rss

The new reMarkable Paper Pro adds a color display

Posted on 04/09/2024 by Daniel Cooper

If you remember the reMarkable 2 when it was announced in March 2020, you'll be excited to hear about its successor: the reMarkable Paper Pro. This new distraction-free writing slate comes with a nicer chassis, faster internals, a bigger display and most importantly, a color screen.

If you’re unfamiliar, reMarkable is the standard bearer for those devices standing in the delta between high and low tech. It’s an e-paper slate with a stylus (or keyboard) for reading, writing or editing your own documents, or annotating PDFs. The focus is giving you a calmer space to get some Serious Work(™) done, free from the distractions a “proper” computer or tablet would harbor. The company has always maintained that its devices offer you a way to feel like you’re working on paper, without actually having to work on paper. Despite its age, the reMarkable 2 has been a mainstay in our E Ink tablets guide as the pick that's the best option for most people. The only other products currently in the conversation are the Kobo Libra Colour and Onyx Book Tablet Note Air 3 C. Those models also boast color screens and stylus compatibility, but both have smaller displays — 7 inches diagonally on the former and 10.3 inches on the latter.

The Paper Pro is a little more than an inch taller and a quarter inch wider than its predecessor but has been able to cram in a lot more stuff. The rM2 had a 10.3-inch monochrome display while the Paper Pro’s stretched to 11.8-inches. reMarkable’s Chief Design Officer Mats Solberg explained his team worked to reduce the size of the bezels and chin to accommodate the bigger display.

Image of the new Remarkable Paper Pro, the company’s first distraction-free writing slate with a color display.

Whereas the older model stuck to a rigid notion of post-iPad design language, the new Paper Pro gets a more austere look and feel. The edge band is sharper, if still comfortable to hold, and Solberg emphasized the grooves etched into the sides. He explained they both evoke the idea you’re holding a sheaf of paper, and to add some much-needed grip to a device this thin.

There’s dramatic changes on the inside, with a new 1.8Ghz quad-core Cortex A53 paired with 2GB RAM and 64GB storage. For comparison, the rM2 had a 1.2GHz dual-core chip, 1GB RAM and just 8GB storage. As soon as you turn the Paper Pro on, you’ll see the benefits of the new silicon, with far faster response times. You even get proper animations during the setup process.

But the real showstopper here is the display, which uses a modified version of E Ink’s Gallery 3 technology dubbed “Canvas Color.” It means the display holds a series of ink particles inside each pixel — a White, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow — as in most regular printers. reMarkable says the display is similar to newsprint and it’s an apt analogy with clear, if muted, colors on show.

The technology can also dither colors, mixing each ink particle to produce up to 20,000 other colors, and the colors can also be layered. It means you can highlight sections of text in the same way you’d use a highlighter on paper, the more layers you draw, the darker the color. Of course, the benefit of using a digital device is that you can highlight it as many times as you want without anything becoming soggy.

As usual, reMarkable has leveraged a limit and turned it into a benefit, offering you colors with a heavy dose of restraint. And you don’t really need your retinas to be burned inside out if you’re trying to organize your thoughts ahead of a big meeting. Although, having been spoiled by so many well-made displays of late, I do wish the colors popped a little bit more than they do.

The Paper Pro is the first reMarkable with a frontlight, finally letting you get some work done in dark environments. Solberg explained the frontlight was one of the hardest challenges to build without harming the distance between the stylus tip and the display itself. He said the team was determined to keep the gap between the pen and the display to under one millimeter, and succeeded.

The last two slates had active displays but passive styluses, but the Paper Pro gets an Apple Pencil-esque active stylus as well. It’ll charge while magnetically connected to the side of the bezel and the new components help improve accuracy and latency. Solberg said the reMarkable 2 had an input latency of 22ms, and he had targeted 15ms for this model. He was proud to say that the team smashed that target, with the Paper Pro’s latency down to just 12ms.

And yet, for all the headline changes, it’s the added responsiveness that’s the really compelling feature. The rM2 was no laggard, but the faster input really does help sell the idea you’re sketching out ideas on paper. You can always credit the company for sweating the details, too, like the fact you can add a highlight or handwritten annotation to typed text that will follow the text around as you edit it.

The company is launching a new Type Folio to go with the Paper Pro which, like its parent, is bigger and gets backlit keys. I’ll admit, I was one of a few critics who loved the older model and felt that it made the right compromises to keep its size small. The new model is able to take advantage of the extra room to offer better spacing and a palm rest. It’s fundamentally the same keyboard as before, and I found it pretty easy to work on for long stretches of time.

I’m also impressed with reMarkable’s commitment to making the Paper Pro easier to repair and refurbish than older models. Solberg explained that the Paper Pro is far more modular under the hood, with easily-swappable components. He ruled out end-user repairs, but said that the only adhesive used in the chassis are two replaceable glue strips to keep the battery in place. Repairs would likely need to take place at reMarkable HQ or a partner distributor, but the fact it’s been designed with an eye on long-term repair at all is laudable.

reMarkable Paper Pro is available to order today from reMarkable’s website and Best Buy, priced at $579 with the standard Marker and $629 for the Marker Plus. If you want to add a case, and I heartily recommend you do, it’ll cost you between $89 and $179, depending on your material choice. And if you want to add the Type Folio, you’ll need to cough up an additional $229. The reMarkable 2 is remaining around as a lower-cost option (unsurprisingly, as it’s a really good piece of kit) and will now be available with the standard Marker for $379.

Of course, you and your wallet will have to decide if that’s the sort of sum you can bear to part with, especially in these tightened times. With a product like this, the intentional choices and limits made means it’ll always stack badly in a head-to-head with a similarly-priced iPad. The trick is to work out if you’ll be more productive with less mental and physical clutter in your computing environment, and go forward from there. I’ve found, when I’ve got a lot of work to do and need to focus, it’s a better way to hammer out first drafts than other devices I could name.

Update, September 6, 4:43PM ET: This story was updated after its original publication to include a comparison to competing writing tablets with color screens.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/tablets/the-new-remarkable-paper-pro-adds-a-color-display-120059067.html?src=rss

DTS built an AI-powered system to make dialog sound clearer

Posted on 04/09/2024 by Lawrence Bonk

One of the great universal annoyances of life is that TV explosions and soundtracks are always mega-loud, while dialogue is quieter than a church mouse. This is especially true of modern action movies and TV shows that seem to have been mixed primarily to make our walls shake while remaining mostly indiscernible.

So we dive into the settings. We adjust soundbar placement. We turn on the subtitles. We do it all. Some of this helps, but never enough. DTS is trying to solve this problem once and for all with some well-placed AI. The company just announced its DTS Clear Dialogue feature, which is an “AI-powered solution designed to enhance the clarity of spoken dialogue on TVs.”

DTS says the AI algorithm identifies and boosts dialogue in audio streams, thus eliminating the aforementioned problems. The system also allows for personalized audio settings, as one person’s “perfect” is another’s “please make it stop.”

This is an on-device toolset, meaning it’ll eventually get adopted by TV manufacturers. DTS hasn’t announced any partnerships yet, but the company’s tech is usually adopted by all of the bigwigs, like Sony, Hisense, Philips, LG and Vizio, among others. We’ll be on the lookout for the first televisions that incorporate this feature. For now, the company’s demoing the service at the IFA tech conference in Berlin.

DTS has partnerships in place with content providers, bringing theater-grade audio to home releases. It’s recently teamed up with Disney to enhance the sound of MCU movies and to provide an IMAX-like experience. Boy, could those MCU flicks use a bit of that AI-enhanced dialogue magic the company’s promising.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/dts-built-an-ai-powered-system-to-make-dialog-sound-clearer-080032541.html?src=rss

Until Dawn remake studio lays off staffers before the game’s even out

Posted on 03/09/2024 by Danny Gallagher

The studio behind the upcoming PlayStation 5 and PC remaster of the PlayStation 4 survivor horror game Until Dawn has let go some of its staffers just a month before its release on October 4. Eurogamer reported the unfortunate news on Sunday, and Ballistic Moon confirmed the layoffs in a statement posted on its LinkedIn page on Labor Day, of all days.

“It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that we must make the tough decision to significantly scale down our team to secure the future of our studio,” the statement reads. “This comes after our development of Until Dawn for PS5 and PC.” Ballistic Moon did not state how many staffers were being cut, or what percentage of the team were let go.

Two former staffers broke the news on their social media accounts over the weekend. Former junior game designer Cassy Cornish and former technical designer Harry Williams posted news about their respective job losses on LinkedIn.

“Like many others in this wonderful but turbulent industry, I am sadly being made redundant from my role as a Junior Game Designer at Ballistic Moon,” Cornish wrote. “The team have been wonderful and I’m so excited for our game to release in October!”

Ballistic Moon is just one of the latest in a long line of game studio and tech company layoffs. Take-Two Interactive, the Behaviour (Dead By Daylight), Bungie (Destiny 2 and Marathon’s) and Humble Games have all seen staff cuts recently.

Eurogamer also reported on Monday that Rocksteady, the studio behind the iconic Batman Arkham games, reduced the size of its QA department from 33 to 15 employees over the past month following the disappointing release of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League; One of the laid-off employees was on a scheduled paternity leave.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/until-dawn-remake-studio-lays-off-staffers-before-the-games-even-out-172910650.html?src=rss

MLB’s virtual ballpark returns for four regular-season games in September

Posted on 03/09/2024 by Will Shanklin

Major League Baseball’s virtual ballpark is back. Like a metaverse experience for traditional (non-VR) devices, it lets you watch actual games as they're happening in real time, albeit recreated in a 3D environment. MLB will host interactive watch parties in the environment for select games each Wednesday in September.

Like a baseball-centric take on Second Life (for the old folks in the back), it includes 3D avatars corresponding to players’ movements. The plays and athletes’ precise positions are tracked using the same Sony Hawk-Eye cameras used for the league’s Statcast analytics system. The experience sounds tailor-made for headsets like the Vision Pro and Meta Quest, but it’s limited to traditional screens for now. Improbable, a London-based company known for metaverse experiences, created the tech.

There’s also an audio element, as you can hear the play-by-play and game sounds and chat with other fans in spatial audio. New for this season is a party system that lets you talk directly with your friends. The league is also bringing back a virtual scavenger hunt to keep you interested in case the game is a bore.

MLB’s virtual ballpark debuted during the 2023 season, first for an All-Star exhibition and then for a late regular-season game and a Postseason matchup. This season’s virtual lineup kicks off on Wednesday, with three more games following throughout September:

Wednesday, September 4, 6:50PM ET - Tamba Bay Rays vs. Minnesota Twins
Wednesday, September 11, 7:45PM ET - Reds vs. Cardinals
Wednesday, September 18, 6:35PM ET - Giants vs. Orioles
Wednesday, September 25, 6:40PM ET - Rays vs. Tigers

It isn’t clear who this experience was made for, but hey, at least it’s free. You can log into the virtual ballpark using any modern device with a web browser at MLB’s virtual ballpark website. You’ll need to create or log into an MLB account before they let you past the virtual turnstile.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/mlbs-virtual-ballpark-returns-for-four-regular-season-games-in-september-171533897.html?src=rss

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