Tag Archives: region|US

The HMD Skyline is a mid-range smartphone that’s all about repairability

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Today, HMD unveiled its newest own-brand smartphone called Skyline. This phone runs on a mid-range Snapdragon 7s Gen2 CPU, and it offers up to 256GB of storage and 12GB of RAM. It has 15W Qi2 wireless charging and its 4600mAh battery lasts “up to 48 hours.” The screen is a 6.55-inch full HD+ panel with a 144Hz refresh rate and up to 1,000 nits of brightness. Pick either pink (maybe they had leftovers from the Barbie collab) or black for your phone's color. Skyline phones will be available starting in August and will cost $499.

The spotlight feature for Skyline is ease of repairability. This has been a focus for recent projects from HMD, which also makes phones under the Nokia brand. The back cover of this phone model can be removed, allowing for a user or a third-party shop to replace a broken screen, a worn-out battery, or a bent charging port. Replacement parts are available in select markets from iFixit, which said Skyline will have almost the repairability levels of the Fairphone. Right to repair movements gained a lot of traction last year, with even holdout device manufacturers starting to change their tune. It's positive to see HMD not just offering an option to self-repair, but making it easy to do so.

Front of HMD skyline phone
HMD (modified)

Skyline is also equipped with some notable photo features. The 50 megapixel front camera offers autofocus and eye-tracking. It also has "selfie gesture" hardware that will snap a photo in response to one of four common hand gestures. The rear camera is 108MP, and it has both portrait and night modes to capture the right image for the moment.

As more people want the option to unplug from the always-on lifestyle, Skyline will offer a Detox mode. This feature lets users select specific apps and contacts to block during scheduled breaks. It can be useful for people who find themselves spending more time than they want on social media or games, or for those who need to draw strong lines for work-life balance.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-hmd-skyline-is-a-mid-range-smartphone-thats-all-about-repairability-070035654.html?src=rss

Dyson’s OnTrac headphones ditch the Zone’s air purifier for ‘audio-only’ use

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When Dyson revealed its Zone headphones in early 2022, the company had combined its air filtration expertise with noise-cancelling headphones. COVID-19 was still a big part of our lives back then, but the Zone doesn't protect you against the virus. Instead, it's meant to provide less-polluted air as you move about your day, battling things like urban toxins and seasonal allergens. However, extremely short battery life and a $949 price plagued that first model, so it wasn't really a device accessible to the masses.

Now the company is back with its first "audio-only" over-ear headphones, the Dyson OnTrac. There's no Bane-like mask or air filtration system here, just a set of noise-cancelling headphones with a decidedly Dyson design and a $500 premium price tag. Battery life is no longer an issue, and the company is touting both active noise cancellation (ANC) performance and audio quality on the OnTrac. There are also over 2,000 customization combinations for the outer caps and ear cushions, so you can change up the look at you see fit.

The design of the OnTrac headphones certainly looks like something that would come from the same company that built the V12 stick vac, the Airstrait hair straightener and the Cool air purifiers. Dyson combined premium materials with ergonomics to create the appropriate seal for audio and ANC while also keeping things comfortable. The company used aluminum, copper, nickel and ceramics for the outer caps on the ear cups and "ultra-soft microfiber" foam cushions on the ear pads. There are also "multi-pivot gimbal arms" to help increase comfort and relieve pressure. Plus, Dyson relocated the battery to the headband for better weight distribution.

Inside, the OnTrac features 40mm, 16-ohm neodymium speaker drivers that Dyson says are capable of a frequency response of 6Hz to 21kHz. That covers more of the sonic spectrum than he standard 20Hz to 20kHz range most headphones offer. The company also angled the drivers 13 degrees toward your ears for better acoustic performance. All of that combines to provide "deep sub-bass that you can feel, and clear highs at the upper end of the frequency range." Dyson promises the OnTrac will "reveal hidden detail" as well.

Cherlynn Low for Engadget

The ANC setup on the OnTrac is composed of eight microphones that Dyson says sample external sound 384,000 times a second. Those work with a custom noise-cancelling algorithm and "carefully designed internal geometry" for 40dB of noise blocking, according to the company. Battery life won't be a problem either, so long as Dyson's claims pan out. The company says the OnTrac is capable of up to 55 hours of use with ANC on, thanks to two high-capacity lithium-ion battery cells. A 10-minute charge will give you up to 2.5 hours of use while 30 minutes provides 9.5 hours (with ANC on in both cases). During that listening time, onboard playback and volume controls are handled by a "joystick" on the back edge of the right ear cup. You can double tap on the outside of either ear cup to turn ANC on or off.

The OnTrac headphones will be available in aluminum/orange, cooper/blue, black nickel and ceramic red from Dyson for $500. The replacement caps and cushions will be available for $50 for a set of two. Only a few colors will be available from other retailers, so you'll have to buy most of the options directly from Dyson.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/dysons-ontrac-headphones-ditch-the-zones-air-purifier-for-audio-only-use-040044551.html?src=rss

Meta will withhold multimodal AI models from the EU amid regulatory uncertainty

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Meta has decided to not offer its upcoming multimodal AI model and future versions to customers in the European Union citing a lack of clarity from European regulators, according to a statement given by Meta to Axios. The models in question are designed to process not only text but also images and audio, and power AI capabilities in Meta platforms as well as the company’s Ray-Ban smart glasses.

"We will release a multimodal Llama model over the coming months, but not in the EU due to the unpredictable nature of the European regulatory environment," Meta said in a statement to Axios.

Meta’s move follows a similar decision by Apple, which recently announced it would not release its Apple Intelligence features in Europe due to regulatory concerns. Margrethe Vesteger, the EU’s competition commissioner, had slammed Apple’s move, saying that the company’s decision was a “stunning, open declaration that they know 100 percent that this is another way of disabling competition where they have a stronghold already.” Withholding Meta’s multimodal AI models from the EU could have far-reaching implications — it means that any companies that use them to build their products and services would be unable to offer them in Europe.

Thomas Regnier, an EU spokesperson, told Engadget that the regulator does not comment on individual decisions of companies. "It is the companies' responsibility to ensure that their services comply with our legislation," Regnier said in a statement and added that all companies are welcome to offer service in Europe as long as they comply with the bloc's laws, including the upcoming Artificial Intelligence Act. 

Meta told Axios that it still plans to release Llama 3, the company’s upcoming text-only model in the EU. The company’s primary concern stems from the challenges of training AI models using data from European customers while complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the EU's existing data protection law. In May, Meta announced that it planned to use publicly available posts from Facebook and Instagram users to train future AI models but was forced to stop doing so in the EU after receiving pushback from data privacy regulators in the region. At the time, Meta defended its actions, saying that being able to train its models on the data of European users was necessary to reflect local culture and terminology. 

"If we don’t train our models on the public content that Europeans share on our services and others, such as public posts or comments, then models and the AI features they power won’t accurately understand important regional languages, cultures or trending topics on social media," the company said in a blog post. "We believe that Europeans will be ill-served by AI models that are not informed by Europe’s rich cultural, social and historical contributions."

Despite its reservations about releasing its multimodal models in the EU, Meta still plans to launch them in the UK, which has similar data protection laws to the EU. The company argued that European regulators are taking longer to interpret existing laws compared to their counterparts in other regions.

Update, July 18 2024, 6:40 PM ET: This story has been updated to include a statement from an EU spokesperson. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-will-reportedly-withhold-multimodal-ai-models-from-the-eu-amid-regulatory-uncertainty-215543292.html?src=rss

Meta gives researchers access to Instagram data for teen mental health study

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Serious concerns have been raised about the effect of social media on teenagers’ mental well-being. Meta is letting a group of researchers examine some of Instagram’s data to determine if social media is psychologically damaging younger users.

The Verge reported that the Center for Open Science (COS) is launching a new joint pilot program with Meta to produce independent studies about how social media affects teenagers’ mental health.

The Instagram Data Access Pilot for Well-Being Research program will conduct “independent academic” research using up to six months of Instagram data to determine the “potential positive or negative associations of Instagram use” among teens and young adults. The study will also examine the positive and negative differences of large populations across the world and the causes of “statistical relationships between Instagram and social or emotional health,” according to the program’s website.

The data researchers can access may include an Instagram user’s followers and the accounts they follow, account settings and the amount of time they spend on the photo sharing service. The researchers will not have access to users’ demographic information or the contents of their posts and comments. The data will come from accounts based in 24 countries including the US and UK, according to the request for proposal (RFP).

Other scientific studies conducted by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and New York University and Stanford have found parallel links between social media use and the state of a person’s mental health. The link earned greater awareness last year when Arturo Béjar, a former director of engineering for Protect and Care at Facebook, testified before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that he alerted the company and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg by email of the dangers their product could have on young people.

Béjar testified that seven days before the hearing, 13 percent of users on Instagram between the ages of 13-15 receive unwanted sexual advances. He also testified that his own 16-year-old daughter exhibited signs of a momentary decline in mental health when a user commented that she should “get back to the kitchen” under one of her posts.

A month before the hearing, 41 states filed a lawsuit against Meta for allegedly misleading the public about the potentially addictive nature of its platforms like Facebook and Instagram among teenagers.

"My experience, after sending that email and seeing what happened afterwards, is that they knew there were things they could do about it, they chose not to do them and we cannot trust them with our children," Béjar said during the hearing. "It's time for Congress to act. The evidence, I believe, is overwhelming."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-gives-researchers-access-to-instagram-data-for-teen-mental-health-study-204322979.html?src=rss

Microsoft releases iOS and Android apps for Designer, its AI-powered Canva competitor

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Microsoft has officially released its Designer platform for AI image generation. After a long preview phase, Designer is now available to most people with a Microsoft account. Designer can be used on the web in more than 80 languages, as a mobile app for iOS and Android, and as a Windows app. You can create a brand new visual from the ground up with AI, or use Designer to edit and tweak a picture you've already made. There are plenty of templates available to guide the creation of common image types, like a greeting card, smartphone wallpaper or a profile avatar. More experienced artists can also build everything from scratch, developing their own templates and using their own art.

While Designer can be used on its own, Microsoft is promoting its integration with the company’s other services. Thanks to the company's Copilot AI chatbot, Designer images can be easily linked up to Microsoft Word and PowerPoint projects. Of course, taking full advantage of that will require a Copilot Pro subscription.

If you've used Canva, then Designer will feel very familiar. The service takes a very similar approach to its user experience and now also has some AI options. According to details from when Microsoft first announced the app back in 2022, Designer is integrated with OpenAI's image generator DALL-E. Copilot already has DALL-E 3 integration, as well as ChatGPT 4 Turbo, so it makes sense that Designer will sync up with those existing services.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-releases-ios-and-android-apps-for-designer-its-ai-powered-canva-competitor-203028855.html?src=rss

The tinyPod transforms your old Apple Watch into an iPod-like minimalist phone

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The tinyPod is a case for your Apple Watch, which probably doesn’t sound too exciting on its own. However, its unique angle — a click wheel that controls the watch’s Digital Crown — makes Apple’s wearable look and feel (at least in its marketing) like the company’s first breakthrough product of the 21st century: the iPod. Although you can use it as a music player, it also works with everything else in watchOS, transforming Apple’s smartwatch into a minimalist, distraction-free “phone.”

The $80 tinyPod works with Apple Watch models in Series 4 through 9, along with the Apple Watch SE. (The 41/40mm and 45/44mm Apple Watches have separate tinyPods.) Meanwhile, another 49mm version for the Apple Watch Ultra — because who wouldn’t want to turn their $800 wearable into a minimalist phone? — costs $90. There’s also tinyPod lite, a $30 case sans click wheel.

That click wheel is its core gimmick, and its creator apparently believes it will be safe from Apple’s lawyers. (The fact that it relies on an Apple product probably doesn’t hurt.) The case’s wheel syncs its movement with the Apple Watch’s Digital Crown via “carefully mechanized components inside” that make “direct rotation contact with your Apple Watch crown.” In other words, anywhere on watchOS that lets you scroll with the crown will be scrollable with the tinyPod click wheel. In theory, anyway.

Marketing screenshot for the tinyPod. The iPod-like device sits next to icons for Phone, Music, Messaging and Mail, demonstrating its capabilities. White background.
Newar / tinyPod

The tinyPod website says it can support multi-day battery life by turning off the watch’s wrist detection (which you don’t need here). But living up to that may be a tall order, given how short the battery life of cellular Apple Watches tends to be when used without a phone in Bluetooth range. Of course, you could use a GPS-only model (or turn off cellular) and stick to locally stored music, but that would also limit what it can do.

tinyPod is the product of Newar, a former Snap designer and one-time jailbreak guru. In May, the creator posted that it began as a side project before being transformed into “a real, shipping product for one reason: Whenever I left the house with it, I loved how I felt.”

Whether the tinyPod lives up to its billing as a minimalist, distraction-free and nostalgia-laden “phone” or not, its creator appears to have put significant thought into aesthetics, clarity of purpose and consistency in marketing. Its website demonstrates an eye for detail that relishes in its iPod inspiration, including era-appropriate Apple fonts and a teaser video in a classic 4:3 aspect ratio. (Cue silhouettes dancing to Gorillaz.)

The tinyPod is available for pre-order ahead of shipments “this summer.” You can reserve one today at the product website.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tinypod-transforms-your-old-apple-watch-into-an-ipod-like-minimalist-phone-201713024.html?src=rss

Shop the best Amazon Prime Day tech deals before the sale ends at midnight — Top picks from Apple, Anker, Dyson and more

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The Amazon Prime Day sale ends tonight, but don't think that all opportunities to save have come and gone. In typical Amazon fashion, most of the best Prime Day deals on day one of the sale remain the best offers now on day two — if they didn't sell out already, that is.

Thankfully, many of the best tech deals we curated yesterday are still around today. If you didn't get the chance to shop yesterday, Engadget has you covered. We've collected the best Prime Day deals you can still get right now before the shopping event is over tonight. We expect a few Prime Day deals to still be available tomorrow — there are always a few stragglers — but most of them will expire at today at midnight.

If you're looking for even more Prime Day deals that are still available, check out Engadget's Prime Day hub where you'll find all of the best tech deals you can get for the shopping event this year. In addition to Amazon devices, Prime Day is typically a great time to pick up big-ticket items like tablets, laptops and robot vacuums, and accessories like power banks, streaming devices, Bluetooth speakers and the like.

  • Apple Watch Series 9 for $280, $120 off: We consider the Series 9 to be the best smartwatch available today, period, and it's a no-brainer accessory for iPhone owners. If you want to spend less and get most of the code features found here, you should consider the more affordable Apple Watch SE.

  • Apple AirTag for $24, $4 off: We think these are the best Bluetooth trackers you can buy if you’re an iPhone user. They rely on Apple’s vast Find My network that calls on every nearby iPhone to anonymously pinpoint an AirTag’s location. We found their locating features to be eerily accurate. The price has gone up and down over the past 48 hours, but you may still be able to get a four-pack of AirTags for a record low of $75, too.

  • Apple 10th-gen iPad for $299, $50 off: This is the best iPad for those on a budget thanks to its modern design, USB-C charging, solid battery life and solid performance for the price. It’s even compatible with an optional folio keyboard if you want to turn it into a productivity machine.

  • Apple AirPods Pro for $169, $80 off: The Pros are the best pair of wireless earbuds that Apple sells and one of our top picks overall. They'll be hard to beat if you live in the Apple ecosystem and appreciate the conveniences provided by the built-in H1 chip.

  • AirPods Max for $395, $155 off: We gave this pair a review score of 84 when it arrived way back in December 2020. Despite its age, the Max remains one of the more premium sets of wireless headphones you can buy.

  • Apple MacBook Air (M3, 13-inch) for $850, $250 off: Apple's 2024 MacBook Air has a 13.6-inch Liquid Retina Display that can support one billion different colors. We gave it a 90 in our review thanks to offers like a 1080p FaceTime HD camera, three mics and up to 18 hours of battery life.

  • Apple MacBook Air (M2, 13-inch) for $799, $200 off: If you're coming from an older, Intel-based MacBook, any M-series machine will feel like a big upgrade. This M2 laptop excels thanks to its stellar performance, excellent screen and thin-and-light design.

Google Pixel 8a Prime Day
Engadget

  • Google Pixel 8a for $449, $50 off: This is our top pick for the best midrange smartphone you can get right now, as it builds off of the solid foundation found in Google’s Pixel 7a. The 8a boasts a colorful 120Hz OLED touchscreen, excellent cameras, solid performance and a good battery life.

  • Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra for $975, $325 off: This handset is probably overkill for most users, but nevertheless, it’s our top pick for the best premium handset in our best Android phones guide. It stands out for its luxe build quality, speedy performance, excellent cameras and handy new AI tools.

  • Samsung Galaxy SmartTag2 (four-pack) for $65, $35: Samsung’s tracking tags are extremely reliable and easy to use, and both are reasons why they made our list of the best Bluetooth trackers. This is obviously the best choice for those already tied into the Galaxy ecosystem, but note that they only work with Samsung devices. 

  • Anker MagGo Power Bank 10K for $63, $27 off: Anker's MagGo Power Bank was one of the earliest Qi2-certified devices on the market, and this early 2024 model is impressive, to say the least. The 10,000mAh and 15W capacities provide you with fast wireless charging. The power bank can bring an iPhone 15 from near-dead to half-charged in just 45 minutes.

  • Anker Nano iPhone 15 Portable Charger for $17, $13 off: This 5K power bank has a flip-out USB-C connector that makes it easy to power up Android phones (and the latest iPhones) while on the go. For those who feel more secure with a plugged-in charger rather than a magnetic or wireless one, this power bank is a good option.

  • Sonos Era 100 for $199, $50 off: In our testing, this speaker impressed with excellent sound quality (along with even better stereo-pair sound), easier TruePlay tuning, Bluetooth and in-line support and a simple yet attractive design. It's on our list of the best smart speakers you can get thanks to its Alexa compatibility and it's ability to work with Sonos' own voice assistant

Dyson Airwrap Prime Day
Dyson / Engadget

  • Dyson Airwrap bundle for $550, $125 off: In addition to the Airwrap and its storage case, the bundle includes six attachments: two long barrels, three brushes and the Coanda smoothing dryer, plus a filter cleaning brush, a detangling comb and another storage bag. That's enough to achieve a bunch of different hairstyles with one tool, and you get a couple of ways to store the machine when you're not using it or when you need to travel with it.

  • Theragun Mini 2.0 for $149, $50 off: The runners on the Engadget staff appreciate this percussion massage gun for its compact size, three speeds and swappable attachments.

  • Fitbit Charge 6 for $100, $60 off: The Charge 6 sits at the top of our list of the best fitness trackers you can get precisely because it has such a comprehensive feature set. It also has a seven-day battery life, so you won't have to worry about recharging it for days on end.

  • iRobot Roomba Combo Essentials for $190, $85 off: This model ups the ante a bit by adding in mopping capabilities to the usual robot-vacuum formula. It’s the most affordable vac-and-mop machine that iRobot makes, and it’s an even better buy at this sale price.

  • Shark AI Ultra robot vacuum for $295, $305 off: A version of one of our top picks for the best robot vacuums, it supports cleaning schedules and home mapping, plus it comes with a self-emptying base that can hold up to 60 days worth of debris. The base is also bagless, so you don't have to buy and replace proprietary garbage bags in it over time.

  • Google Nest Cam Indoor/Outdoor (two pack) for $250, $80 off: These cams are battery-powered, so you don't have to worry about cables and you can place them almost anywhere you want inside or outside your home. They support 1080p HDR video and Activity Zones, the latter of which will send you alerts when motion is detected in specific areas.

  • Google Nest Wi-Fi Pro 6E (three pack) for $285, $$115 off: This set is one of the top picks on our list of best mesh Wi-Fi systems, primarily because it's pretty easy to setup and use, even for those who have never attempted to install their our router system.

Sony WH-1000XM5 Prime Day
Engadget
Samsung Frame TV Prime Day
Engadget

  • Samsung The Frame TV with white bezel for $998, $648 off: You’d mainly get a Frame TV for the aesthetic, as the whole thing is designed to mount flush against a wall and hang like a piece of art. You can even use it to display actual artwork and photos when you aren’t watching something. Its image quality is still decent as well, though it’s not on the level of the best LED TVs in this price range.

  • LG C3 OLED TV for $1,097, $200 off: This is a 2023 model, but at this price it’s a nice value if you want the deep contrast, wide viewing angles and fast motion response of a quality OLED panel.

  • Roku Streaming Stick 4K for $29, $21 off: One of the best streaming devices available today, this model supports 4K HDR content, long-range Wi-Fi, Apple AirPlay and private listening through the companion mobile app.

  • Sonos Ray for $199, $80 off: In our testing, this soundbar provided good sound quality for both TV audio and music, impressive bass performance for a soundbar of its size and an attractive, compact design.

Amazon Echo Show 8 Prime Day
Amazon

  • Amazon Echo Show 8 for $85, $65 off: The smart display has dropped to $85 for Prime Day. This is our current top pick for the best smart display with Amazon’s Alexa thanks in part to its 8-inch touchscreen, 13MP camera that supports auto-framing for better video chats and its built-in Zigbee smart home hub.

  • Amazon Echo Dot for $25, $25 off: Amazon’s smallest smart speaker has dropped to $25 for Prime Day. It’s one of the best smart speakers you can get right now thanks to its compact design, physical button controls that compliment voice commands and its solid sound quality for its size. The Kids version is also on sale for $28 for this sale.

  • Amazon Kindle for $85, $15 off: The base Kindle is on sale for $85 for Prime Day. It’s our top pick for the best budget ereader out there, and it’s an even better value when you can snag it on discount. In addition to giving you access to Amazon’s vast Kindle ebook library, the entry-level Kindle has a good number of page customization options (for text size, font, margins, etc) and Audible integration, which lets you listen to Audible audiobooks if you have a pair of Bluetooth headphones.

Your Prime Day Shopping Guide: See all of our Prime Day coverage. Shop the best Prime Day deals on Yahoo Life. Follow Engadget for Prime Day tech deals. Hear from Autoblog’s experts on the best Amazon Prime Day deals for your car, garage, and home, and find Prime Day sales to shop on AOL, handpicked just for you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/shop-the-best-amazon-prime-day-tech-deals-before-the-sale-ends-at-midnight--top-picks-from-apple-anker-dyson-and-more-185535856.html?src=rss

No Man’s Sky’s newest update is a buried tech module full of new goodies

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No Man’s Sky has been sending players on interstellar explorations for more than eight years now, and explorers probably haven’t uncovered a tenth of this computer-generated universe. A huge new update called Worlds Part I expands this already sizable game with a ton of new gadgets, story driven missions and new worlds to discover and explore.

The Worlds Part I update is available now in No Man’s Sky across all consoles as well as PC and Mac. All told, there are over 40 new features, improvements or fixes and additions.

The game already has over 18 quintillion planets but there are a few new types added to this mix. One of the new world types now have “gravitational distortions” that have altered terrains to create floating islands that can be mined, altered or used as a platform to build a new homebase in the sky. No Man’s Sky has also transformed some of its words into “sub-zero” landscapes with new flora, mineral formations and terrains. Some worlds have even generated new forms of life such as plant-animal hybrids with features like “stamen-like whiskers” and “petal-like faces,” according to the official website.

The Worlds Part I update also comes with a bunch of new graphics improvements and features. Hello Games has given pretty much every part of its worlds a new look from the “new volumetric clouds” in the sky to the “high definition water” and “dynamic water” that’s more responsive to wind, depth and weather conditions.

Hello Games just released a huge update for No Man's Sky called Worlds Part I.
Hello Games

Some planets have visually enhanced atmospheres that can produce familiar weather like rain and snow as well as unusual conditions such as falling ash and ember and storm crystals. The update also provides some engine enhancements to improve the game’s graphics and performance and render environments faster and clearer. There are even new sky and water colors across the universe’s many landscapes and horizons.

The new update isn’t just a cosmetic fix. There’s also some new toys in the game that help you alter planets’ terrains or blow giant holes in your enemies’ spacecraft. The coolest are the Liquidator combat mechs that look like giant Star Wars imperial walkers (if you cut off its head and attached a pair of arms to either side). You can also mount weapons on the arm such as the new Minotaur Flamethrower that can cause “extreme damage at close range.”

A flamethrower will come in handy when you’re engaged in combat in one of the new “walker battles” featuring new, deadly Sentinel units to fight or taking on one of the “vile insect queens” or a hostile beetle (or gentle but still roastable). Once you’ve defeated them, you can turn their carcasses into mounted trophies for your living space. There’s also new biological based accessories you can build including a “Chitin Flight Pack” and an insect based armor set if you want your explorer to look more GWAR-esque.

There’s even a new menu of “strange nutrients” to keep your explorer sated and healthy with ingredients like “nourishing slime,” “syrupy nectar” and “juicy grubs.” These components can create new dishes to consume like “Mucal Doughnuts,” “Seeping Pies” and “Juicy Thoraxes” that make Scottish cuisine sound like items from the French Laundry.

Hello Games just released a huge update for No Man's Sky called Worlds Part I.
Hello Games

Now that you’ve got new items from your arsenal like bug-based armor and flamethrowers, you can take them out for a test-toast on new story-driven missions like the “Vile Brood Nexus Mission” to eradicate an invasive species. Once you get your Liquidator mech, you can go on a “Bug Hunt Expedition” to exterminate species of giant, dangerous insects and other biological horrors.

Phew, that’s one massive update. No Man’s Sky is known for its huge updates and patches that throw a ton of new stuff into the game’s virtual universe. The Orbital update released in March added new features like a ship editor and a new Guild system. The Echo package generated a new form of mechanical life called the Autophage, multi-tool salvaging and a graphics boost for PlayStationVR 2.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/no-mans-skys-newest-update-is-a-buried-tech-module-full-of-new-goodies-182151743.html?src=rss

Spotify’s AI music DJ can now speak Spanish

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AI seems to be seeping into every facet of society these days, but that may not be the case in communities where English isn’t the dominant language. Spotify is working to correct that by offering a Spanish-speaking version of its DJ feature.

Spotify announced the new Spanish speaking feature for its DJ mode also known as Xavier or “X” on Wednesday. The new DJ is named Livi and Spotify has even given its new DJ a backstory describing her as a “Senior Music Editor at Spotify based out of Mexico City” and “a music expert who has spent her entire career in the music industry.

It’s basically a cruder version of how Jon Hamm can digitally assign backgrounds and perspectives to “cookies” in Black Mirror’s Christmas episode. Does this mean X and Livia will start screaming if we play Wizzard’s “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday” on an endless loop?

DJ is an AI generated list of curated songs based on a Spotify user’s listening history. The DJ feature also includes an AI voice introducing and commenting on some of the songs it picks just like a radio DJ would except this DJ plays songs you actually want to hear. The music streaming service launched DJ last year using OpenAI. Six months later, Spotify expanded DJ’s reach to 50 countries but only in English.

Spotify’s DJ is also starting to get some competition. YouTube Music just announced its own AI-generated conversational DJ radio generator for select users. If they don’t call him “YouGene,” then they are missing out on pure pun gold.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/spotifys-ai-music-dj-can-now-speak-spanish-180022156.html?src=rss

Fallout’s 16 Emmy nominations show that successful gaming adaptations are no longer a fluke

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Prime Video’s Fallout has followed The Last of Us in video-game adaptations making smashing freshman debuts at the Emmys. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences unveiled this year’s nominations on Wednesday, and Amazon’s adaptation of Bethesda’s franchise picked up an impressive 16 nods, including Best Drama, Best Actor - Drama (Walton Goggins) and Best Writing - Drama.

Fallout, which Amazon didn’t wait long to renew for a second season, follows Lucy (Ella Purnell), a vault dweller who ventures above-ground to try to rescue her father in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Walton Goggins scored the series’ only acting nomination for his scene-stealing performance as The Ghoul. Its writing nod went to Geneva Robertson-Dworet and Graham Wagner for the ironically (yet appropriately) titled premiere episode, “The End.”

Only Murders in the Building, Hulu’s popular comedy-mystery series, led all streaming-only series with 21 nominations. They include Best Comedy, two for Best Actor - Comedy (Steve Martin and Martin Short), Best Actress - Comedy (Selena Gomez) and Best Supporting Actress - Comedy (finally, Meryl Streep gets nominated for something!), Best Supporting Actor - Comedy (Paul Rudd), Comedy Guest Actress (Da’Vine Joy Randolph) and Comedy Guest Actor (Matthew Broderick).

Imelda Staunton as Queen Elizabeth in the final season of The Crown. Closeup.
Imelda Staunton in The Crown
Netflix

Netflix’s The Crown followed close behind for streaming-only series with 18 noms for its final season, which recounted the passing of Princess Diana and the Royal Family’s transition into the 21st century. It picked up nods for Best Drama, Best Actress - Drama (Imelda Staunton), Best Actor - Drama (Dominic West), two for Best Supporting Actress - Drama (Elizabeth Debicki and Lesley Manville), Best Supporting Actor - Drama (Jonathan Pryce), Guest Actress - Drama (Claire Foy in a memorable return), Directing - Drama (Stephen Daldry for the episode “Sleep, Dearie Sleep”) and Writing - Drama (Peter Morgan and Meriel Sheibani-Clare for “Ritz”).

In other streaming nominations, Amazon Prime’s Mr. and Mrs. Smith and Apple TV+’s The Morning Show each snagged 16 nods. Netflix’s Baby Reindeer, described as based on a true stalking story by series creator and lead actor Richard Gadd, received 11 nominations.

Gary Oldman as Jackson Lamb in Slow Horses. Standing in front of storefronts, wearing frumpy clothes.
Apple TV+

Netflix had the most total nominations of any platform, with a staggering 107. Among streaming-only ones, Apple TV+ came in second with 70. (In addition to The Morning Show, Apple’s Palm Royale, Lessons in Chemistry and Slow Horses all charted.) Amazon Prime Video landed 37 total noms, Hulu got 26 and Disney+ received 19.

Zooming out from streaming-only to the broader field, FX’s Shogun led all series with 25 nominations, followed by The Bear with 23 (it was a good day for FX) as it broke the record for most nods for a comedy. HBO’s True Detective: Night Country landed 19, a new sketch-comedy show you may have heard of called Saturday Night Live received 17 and HBO’s Hacks got 16.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fallouts-16-emmy-nominations-show-that-successful-gaming-adaptations-are-no-longer-a-fluke-175555108.html?src=rss