In 2002, Microsoft launched Xbox Live with built-in voice chat as one of the main selling points of the then new service. Now, nearly 25 years later, Nintendo is finally giving its fans an easy way to talk to their friends online over a friendly match of Mario Kart World.
Considering some of the solutions Nintendo has offered in the past, GameChat is surprisingly elegant. A tap of the Switch 2's new C button, conveniently located below the Home button on the right Joy-Con, brings up a dedicated interface that allows you to quickly start screensharing, mute and unmute your mic and, if you decide to buy the optional Switch 2 Camera, enable video.
What's more, the Switch 2 has a built-in mic. We'll need to test the handheld to see how well the microphone performs in a noisy environment; Nintendo touted its noise-reduction features in today's introduction. But if nothing else, kudos to Nintendo for realizing it couldn't release a new console in 2025 without voice chat built-in and making that feature standard on all models.
However, if the demo Nintendo showed off today is any indication of the final product, the company has some work to do. Voice chat looks like it works well enough, with users allowed to invite up to 11 other people to join their conversation. That said, screen sharing and video chat look very rough.
When everyone in the video started streaming their gameplay, it looked like the games were running at less than 30 frames per second, making it difficult to see how it would be possible to use the feature to guide a friend through a tricky section, like Nintendo suggested in the demo. Video chat was equally janky, with the footage from the Switch 2 Camera looking like something captured by a webcam from the mid-aughts. Moreover, if you want to see your friend's screen, there's an additional tradeoff.
Nintendo showed off three different interface options, with two of them devoting a fair amount of screen space to tiles for your friends. I imagine this won't be a problem if you're playing on a TV, but even on the Switch 2's large 7.9-inch screen, the interface looks like it could get cramped fast.
To Nintendo's credit, the company has thought a lot about parental controls, with features that allow parents and guardians to decide who their kids can chat with online and if they can join a session with video. But the thing is none of GameChat’s capabilities are new. They've existed in apps like Discord for years, which begs the question why some of them look so rough this close to launch.
Nintendo has time between now and June 5 to polish GameChat, but in 2025, making a technically competent chat app shouldn't be so hard. Of course, I imagine most of the Switch 2's audience won't care if some of GameChat's features are half-baked. For the rest of us, the company plans to offer the feature for free until the end of March 2026. One would hope that's enough time for the company to catch up on two decades worth of progress in online gaming.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/gamechat-is-decades-late-and-looks-pretty-janky-202309823.html?src=rss
According to a recent Digital Education Council survey, as many as 86 percent of university students globally use artificial intelligence to assist with their coursework. It’s a staggering statistic that’s likely to have far-reaching consequences for years to come. So it’s not surprising to see a company like Anthropic announce Claude for Education, an initiative it says will equip universities to "play a key role in actively shaping AI's role in society."
At the heart of Claude for Education is a new Learning mode that changes how Anthropic’s chatbot interacts with users. With the feature engaged, Claude will attempt to guide students to a solution, rather than providing an answer outright, when asked a question. It will also employ the Socratic method in conversations, asking questions like “What evidence supports your conclusion?” as a way to guide users to understanding. All of this is powered by 3.7 Sonnet, Anthropic’s new hybrid reasoning model, and tied to Claude’s Projects feature, which gives you a way to organize your chats around specific topics.
Claude for Education is available to all Pro users with an .edu email address. Additionally, Anthropic is partnering with Northeastern University, the London School of Economics and Political Science as well as Champlain College to make Claude available to all students at those institutions.
At the same time, the company is launching two new programs. The first, Claude Campus Ambassadors, gives students the chance to work directly with Anthropic to launch educational initiatives at their school. The second, meanwhile, will see Anthropic award API credits to students working on projects involving Claude. Separately, the company says it will work with Instructure, the company behind the Canvas learning software, to increase access to tools universities are using to integrate AI into their teaching.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/claudes-new-learning-mode-will-prompt-students-to-answer-questions-on-their-own-172057828.html?src=rss
Silksong, the long-awaited to sequel to 2017's Hollow Knight, will arrive later this year, according to a brief sizzle reel Nintendo shared during today's Switch 2 Direct. In fact, the snippet was so short you might have missed it if you blinked, and featured the same section of gameplay we first saw during the game's announcement trailer back in 2019.
Of course this being Silksong we're talking about, I wouldn't count on the game's developer, Team Cherry, sticking to that date until we have the game in our hands. If you recall, back in 2022 there was speculation the game would arrive by June 12, 2023 after Microsoft included it in a Xbox Game Pass trailer and said all the titles featured in said clip would be available within 12 months. Well, June 12, 2023 came and went with no release of Silksong.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/hollow-knight-silksong-purportedly-arrives-this-year-144515332.html?src=rss
Nintendo Switch Online is getting a Switch 2-exclusive upgrade. On June 5, the same day the new console goes on sale, the service's Expansion Pack service will begin including GameCube games. At launch, Nintendo will offer The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soulcaliber II and F-Zero GX, with more games to come following the Switch 2's release.
Games that support multiplayer, including F-Zero GX, will offer online play, with support for up to four players. Additionally, the Switch 2 will render every GameCube game at a higher resolution for improved image quality. Nintendo will also release a new version of the GameCube's classic controller that features a USB-C connection, wireless connectivity and a dedicated C button for GameChat functionality.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-nintendo-switch-2-will-play-gamecube-games-141025334.html?src=rss
Voice chat was never easy on the Nintendo Switch. Thankfully, with the Switch 2, Nintendo is making it an essential part of the new console. By pressing the new "C" button, located on the right Joy-Con, players can jump into a GameChat with their friends and family. Nintendo demoed the feature during its recent Switch 2 Direct, alongside a new Switch 2 Camera that will go on sale on June 5, the same day as the new handheld.
If you've ever watched someone stream on Discord, you'll have an idea of what to expect from GameChat. Along the bottom of the interface are windows for every chat participant. At any time, up to four of your friends can start sharing their screen, and join with video chat if they own the Switch 2 Camera. Every Switch 2 unit features a microphone along the top of the device to facilitate voice communication, and GameChat allows up to 12 people to converse over voice. In the demo Nintendo showed off, friend streams appeared to run noticeably worse than the main gameplay.
"Safety features are in place to help players have a safe and secure chat experience, such as the ability to report a person while in a chat session," says Nintendo. Additionally, children under the age of 16 will need approval from their parent to use GameChat, which they can obtain through an updated version of the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls App.
Nintendo said a Nintendo Switch Online membership will be required to use GameChat. However, the company will offer a free trial through March 31, 2026.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-nintendo-switch-2-offers-built-in-voice-chat-and-screensharing-133334225.html?src=rss
More than a decade after debuting on the iPhone in 2014, the Monument Valley series is making its way to Switch consoles. On Thursday, Nintendo announced Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 would hit the eShop on April 15, with Monument Valley 3, the most recent entry in the series, arriving sometime this summer.
This isn't the first time Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 have been available outside of mobile devices. In 2022, series creator Ustwo Games released the two games on PC. The work the studio did then likely made the job of porting the games to Switch a lot easier; there was likely no need to rework the art assets for the console's widescreen display. Both games will come with all the additional chapters, add-ons and DLC Ustwo released over the years.
For most people, this will probably be their first chance to play Monument Valley 3. Although the game has been available on mobile devices since the end of last year, it requires a Netflix subscription to access, and with the cost of the Standard plan increasing at the start of the year to $18 per month, it's understandable if you decided to skip it.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-monument-valley-games-are-finally-coming-to-the-switch-171801177.html?src=rss
It's been a while since Engadget has highlighted a Humble Bundle, but the latest one is just too good to ignore. The Dice and Destiny collectionbrings together six incredible RPGs in support of CARE, an NGO that fights hunger and poverty globally. For about $15, you get Broken Roads, Citizen Sleeper, Disco Elysium, Pillars of Eternity, Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire, Roadwarden and a coupon for 15 percent off of Citizen Sleeper 2: Starward Vector.
Having played most of the games in this bundle, I can safely say they're all well-worth your time, but a few stand out. Disco Elysium needs no introduction. It was one of the most critically acclaimed games of 2019, and if you haven't played it yet, this is great way to get Disco Elysium for cheap. But it's not my favorite game in the collection. That distinction is shared by Citizen Sleeper and Roadwarden.
In tone, they're very different games. Citizen Sleeper is set in a dystopian far future, while Roadwarden is a dark fantasy RPG that fans of The Witcher series will love. However, both feature incredible writing, music and art, and if you love games where your decisions matter, few will scratch that itch like Citizen Sleeper and Roadwarden.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/the-latest-humble-bundle-brings-together-six-must-play-rpgs-154850448.html?src=rss
A pair of cult classics from Sony's PlayStation Portable library are heading to Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and PC. As part of the Nintendo Direct showcase this March, Bandai Namco announced Patapon 1 + 2 Replay, a package that brings together brand new remasters of 2007's Patapon and 2008's Patapon 2. Originally developed by Pyramid and Sony Japan Studio, which shuttered in 2021, the two games combine elements from strategy and rhythm games.
As the player, you must guide a tribe of anthropomorphic eyeballs to victory over their foes through a combination of drum beats. Patapon and Patapon 2 were well-received on release and went on to define the PSP's library of quirky but fun games. In addition to HD graphics, Patapon 1 + 2 Replay includes quality of life changes that should hopefully make this the best way to play these two gems.
Update, March 31, 1:15PM ET: Bandai Namco confirmed that Patapon 1 + 2 Replay is coming to PS5 and PC as well as Switch, and this information has been included in the article.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/patapon-1--2-replay-brings-two-psp-classics-to-pc-ps5-and-switch-on-july-11-143627055.html?src=rss
We hear Signal is in the news. As longtime fans of the app, and secure messaging more broadly, we feel like it's our duty at Engadget to ensure you know how to use the software properly.
Download Signal
Signal is available on Android and iOS, as well as nearly every desktop operating system, including Windows and macOS. You can download the app by clicking one of the links provided above, or typing in "Signal Messenger" in your device's app store. Once you've installed the app, proceed to set up an account using your phone number or an alias.
Note: If you want to install Signal on a workplace phone or computer, be sure to obtain approval from your employer; some organizations, such as the US government, either actively discourage or downright disallow use of the app.
Create a new group
Wonderful, you've downloaded Signal! Now, to create a group chat, follow these steps:
Tap the compose icon at the top of the interface.
Select New Group.
Add participants by selecting their name from your contact list, or inputting their username or phone number.
Give your group a name (and a profile picture if you want).
If the contents are especially sensitive, you may wish to enable Disappearing Messages and select an expiration time.
As you're in the process of adding new participants to a group, be sure to verify you're adding the right people.
Some useful tips
I would also suggest making use of Signal's Permissions feature to limit who can invite people to your chat.
Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings.
Scroll down and select Permissions.
Under "Add Members," tap Only Admins.
One of the ways someone can join your group chat is through a group link or QR Code. For additional security, you can set it so that admins must approve group link invites before the invitee can join.
Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings.
Scroll down and select Group Link.
Switch the toggle to on.
Maybe you know exactly who you can trust, but the guy down the hall might not!
If you tend to get mixed up on names easily, Signal allows you to assign nicknames to users. After all, no one wants a case of mistaken identity.
Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings.
Under "Members," select the name of the individual you want to assign a nickname to.
Type in a name. You can also add a note, say describing the person's profession, in case you need additional context.
Nicknames are only visible to you, so don't be embarrassed to use them.
How to remove someone from your group chat
Look, even the best of us can make mistakes. Thankfully, Signal makes it easy to remove someone from a conversation thread.
Open your group chat and tap the group name to view the chat settings.
Under "Members," select the name of the individual you want to remove.
Tap Remove From Group.
How to delete messages in a Signal group chat
So you somehow got through all of the above steps, added someone you shouldn't have and sent information that a relative stranger likely shouldn't have seen. Lets be honest, you're an edge case. But there's still hope if you caught your mistakes early.
Tap and hold the message on mobile (or hover the message bubble on desktop),
Select Delete.
Select Delete for Everyone.
Now there's less chance of, for instance, a record of your civil and perhaps even criminal mishaps being shared to a notable reporter in a form potentially open to legal discovery.
Ultimately, no matter how secure the messaging platform, if what you need to talk about is very, very sensitive, it's probably best to just "get everyone in a room together."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/how-to-add-someone-to-a-signal-group-chat-201430756.html?src=rss
Discord has begun rolling out a redesigned desktop app that adds more customization to the client. To start, the new app increases the number of free themes to four. Where previously you could choose between two skins — light and dark — if you weren't a Nitro subscriber, now your options are light, ash, dark and onyx. In short, everyone gets access to more dark themes. Discord has also added three new UI density options — default, spacious and compact. These are separate from the app's existing message layout options, so it's another way to tweak the look and feel of the interface.
With this redesign, the company is also finally giving users the option to resize the channel list. Discord has also redesigned the controls that appear when you're on a voice or video call. Now, more of the buttons you may want to press during a call will appear in the center bar along the bottom of the screen. At the same time, the mic and camera buttons feature more color, so you have a better indicator if you're muted or your camera is active.
"All of these updates are meant to enhance legibility, reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed by visual noise, and maintain consistency across desktop and mobile devices," Discord explains.
Discord
Separately, the redesigned app ships with a new overlay that Discord says is faster and won't impact game performance. Taking a page Valve's recent redesign of Steam, Discord has reworked the interface around widgets, meaning you can move around each individual element as you wish. The company has also re-engineered the overlay so that it doesn't "hook" itself into games. As a result, it's less likely to trigger anti-cheat systems like BattleEye. In turn, that means the new overlay is compatible with "a larger portion of the most-played games on Discord." It's even possible to watch a friend's stream directly from the new overlay.
The redesigned app and overlay arrive after Discord CEO Jason Citron announced last May the company would refocus on building the best possible communications tool for gamers. In 2020, Discord briefly rebranded itself as a general purpose chat app after many young people turned to the platform to stay in touch with their friends during lockdown.
"After taking stock of the world now that the pandemic is largely behind us, and learning directly from you about how Discord can be even more useful, we've recognized the need to narrow our focus from broadly being a community-centric chat app to being a place that helps people deepen their friendships around games and shared interests," Citron wrote last year.
The update also arrives at what could be a pivotal moment for Discord. According to a recent New York Times report, the company could go public as early as later this year. With 72 percent of Discord users regularly gaming on PC, ensuring those people are taken care of ahead of a potential IPO takes on a sense of urgency.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/discords-redesigned-pc-app-has-multiple-dark-modes-a-new-overlay-and-more-160019822.html?src=rss
Apple plans to start using images it collects for Maps to train its AI models. In a disclosure spotted by 9to5Mac, the company said starting this month it would use images it captures to provide its Look Around feature for the additional purpose of training some of its generative AI models.
Look Around is Apple's answer to Google Street View. The company originally released the feature alongside its 2019 revamp of Apple Maps. The tool allows users to see locations from ground level. Apple blurs faces and license plates photographed in Look Around images to protect the privacy of any individuals caught in its survey efforts.
"In addition to improving Apple Maps and the algorithms that blur faces and license plates in images published in Look Around feature, Apple also will use blurred imagery collected during surveys conducted beginning in March 2025 to develop and improve other Apple products and services," the company writes in the disclosure. "This includes using data to train models powering Apple products and services, including models related to image recognition, creation, and enhancement."
Apple did not immediately respond to Engadget's request for more information.
The company's Apple Maps image collection policy page provides a list of regions and dates when it plans to collect new images for Look Around. People can find when Apple's survey crews and vehicles plan to visit their area by sorting by country and then clicking on a specific region.
Apple currently offers a few different features that rely on image generation models. Image Playground, for instance, allows owners of Apple Intelligence-compatible devices to write a prompt to create a new image. There's also Clean Up in Photos, which you can use to remove objects from your favorite snapshots.
Google has been using Street View images to train AI models for years. In 2017, for example, a pair of researchers from the company trained a machine learning model to generate professional-looking photographs from a dataset collected from Street View.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/apple-will-use-its-street-view-maps-photos-to-train-ai-models-150919972.html?src=rss
The next time you join a video call, Otter.ai is hoping its new AI tool will help make things run smoother. On Tuesday, the company introduced the Otter Meeting Agent. It's part of a suite of three new AI helpers designed to assist a variety of different users. The first of those, the voice-activated Meeting Agent, can schedule follow-up calls and draft emails for you. It can also answer questions based on information it finds in your company's meeting database.
"This agent goes beyond simple transcription and empowers users to interact with AI meeting data in real-time to increase productivity," explains Otter.ai. The two other agents the company is releasing today can provide real-time coaching to sales agents during customer calls and live demos to potential customers. Otter.ai says it plans to release more "vertical" agents in the future. They will be designed to assist marketing, recruiting and other job functions.
In the meantime, Otter.ai has begun rolling out the Meeting Agent to all users. As of today, it works with Zoom exclusively, with support for Microsoft Teams and Google Meet arriving in the coming weeks. If you don't have access right away, it may take a few days before the company rolls out the agent to you.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/otterais-meeting-agent-can-schedule-calls-and-write-emails-for-you-130048189.html?src=rss
The Nothing Phone 2a was one of the most memorable smartphones of 2024. It offered a fast display, big battery and personality, all for just $349. For a follow-up, Nothing could have simply refreshed the 2a and the result would have probably been worth recommending. But the company didn't do that. Instead, it decided to update the 2a and release an entirely new handset alongside it.
That new device, the Phone 3a Pro, has something you don't find on many midrange smartphones: a periscope telephoto camera. If you can live with some added weight and a slightly silly design, the 3a Pro offers a nearly flagship camera experience for $459. As for the 3a, it’s a great device on its own, and a smart alternative if you have even less to spend on a new phone.
Carrier compatibility
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
There are a couple of important details I need to mention before I get too far into this review. In the US, Nothing is selling the 3a and 3a Pro through a "beta" program where the company only offers 14 days of after-sale support. If there's something wrong with your new phone and it's outside the extremely short return period, you could easily be out of luck. This is separate from Nothing's software support policy, which promises three years of Android upgrades and six years of security patches for the 3a and 3a Pro, in addition to "corrective and functionality updates."
Additionally, the phones don't support all of AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon's 5G bands. You’ll get basic connectivity, but mmWave speeds are off the table. Lastly, Nothing notes AT&T and Verizon customers will need to contact their carrier to enroll their new phone’s IMEI for 5G access. I mention these things upfront because I think the 3a and 3a Pro are great phones worthy of your consideration, but it’s also understandable if Nothing's limited customer and carrier support put you off.
Design
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The 3a and 3a Pro don't feel like two sub-$500 handsets, and a big part of that is a new glass backing. Compared to my iPhone 12, the 3a and 3a Pro feel very Apple-like in their construction. I especially like the coating Nothing used for the outer casing of the two phones, which makes the frame feel like it's made from ceramic. Both are big handsets, and the texture made for a secure grip anytime I took one of them out of my pocket. Nothing has also added better waterproofing, with both the 3a and 3a Pro offering IP64-certified protection against moisture and dust. That's up from the IP54 rating on the 2a. If you spend a lot of time around water, plenty of other midrange phones come with better protection, including the new $499 Pixel 9a.
Another new feature is a button called the Essential Key. On both phones, it's located on the right side, right below the power button. I'll have more to say on what it does later, but for now I'll mention it feels less solid than all the other buttons on the two phones. It's a shame because everything else is so well-made.
The Phone 3a is available in three colors (black, white and blue) and the 3a Pro in two (gray and black). Unfortunately, you can't buy the blue 3a in North America, otherwise I would get one for myself. Nearly three years after the release of the Phone 1, Nothing's devices continue to have unique designs, though I imagine some people might not be thrilled about the look of the 3a Pro.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
I mean, look at it. The 3a Pro is a modern-day Lumia 1020, and is sure to attract confused looks. Not only does the camera housing make an already thick phone thicker, but the extra hardware makes the 3a Pro a whole 10 grams heavier than the 3a. And at 201 grams, the 3a already feels substantial.
It's hard to see in photos but there's a gap between bottom of the 3a Pro's camera module and the top of the back casing. In the short time I've had the phone, it has already started collecting dust and debris there. The outer ring of the module also has a finish that doesn't match with any of the other materials used on the phone. Ultimately, it feels like the 3a Pro sacrifices some of the 3a's cool factor for camera performance. That tradeoff is ultimately worth it and its design grew on me, but I wouldn't judge you if you found the 3a Pro too much.
Display
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The 3a and 3a Pro have the same display. At 6.77 inches, it offers slightly more real estate than the 2a's 6.7-inch screen. This time around, Nothing has also gone with Panda Glass to protect the AMOLED panel from scratches. On paper, that's a downgrade from the Gorilla Glass Nothing used for the 2a and what you'll find on the Pixel 9a and Galaxy S24 FE, but short of conducting a drop test, it’s hard for me to say if there's any difference in durability.
What I can say is the display looks great. It's still an FHD panel with a variable refresh rate that goes up to 120Hz. However, it offers improved visibility in direct sunlight with the ability to hit a peak brightness of 1,300 nits automatically. I never struggled to see the screen, even on a sunny day when I wore polarized glasses.
For the price, Nothing picked the perfect screen. It's fast, vibrant and, thanks to a new 480Hz sampling rate, highly responsive. One aspect of the display that may annoy some is that Nothing went with an optical in-display fingerprint sensor instead of ultrasonic. Ultrasonic sensors tend to be faster and more accurate, but they also cost more to make, so they're typically only found on flagship devices like the Galaxy S25. Don't let that scare you away from the 3a and 3a Pro though. Outside of a bit of pokiness during setup, I haven't had any issues with the fingerprint sensor.
Cameras
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The cameras on the 3a and 3a Pro are the complete package. Starting with the 3a, Nothing has made a few tweaks. For a main camera, you still get a 50-megapixel Samsung GN9 sensor paired with an f/1.88 lens and optical image stabilization (OIS). Instead of the 50MP ultrawide camera on the 2a, the 3a has an 8MP sensor from Sony and a slightly wider 120-degree field of view. Most notably, the phone now comes with a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 2x optical zoom.
While more manufacturers are beginning to include telephoto cameras with their midrange phones, it's still not a feature you find on every device. For $379, the 3a's telephoto has no right being as good as it is, and I was constantly surprised by the detail in the shots I took. Across the entire package, Nothing has really pleasing image processing. The contrast that the software adds to photos might be too much for some, but it otherwise does a great job of producing warm and inviting natural colors. Like a lot of phones in its price range, the 3a's cameras can struggle in low light or when it has to contend with harsh sunlight.
One idiosyncrasy of Nothing's image processing is that photos will often look unusable before you press the shutter. For example, bright scenes will frequently have blown out highlights. However, once the phone has had a second to apply HDR, those same images will often turn out great. I didn’t know this when I first started using the phone, so sometimes I gave up on a shot before taking it. This is true of the 3a Pro too, so keep that in mind if you decide to buy one of them.
As for the 3a Pro, it offers a near flagship experience and the highlight is the phone's periscope camera. It has a 50MP Sony sensor with an f/2.55 lens and built-in OIS. The telephoto gives a 3x optical zoom, but you can also push it to 6x with a lossless crop. Either way, the images produced by this lens can look sharp and detailed, as long as the subject you're trying to shoot is relatively still.
As you can see from the sample gallery, some of the cats I tried to photograph around my neighborhood came out a bit blurry. That's because the 3a Pro attempted to get away with using a relatively slow shutter speed. However, for less challenging scenes, the periscope camera consistently felt like cheating, and I had to keep reminding myself this is a phone that costs less than $500.
The telephoto also has a macro mode, allowing it to focus on subjects as close as 5.9 inches away. It can be tricky to judge how close you need to be to the subject, but when I was able to nail focus, the 3a Pro produced detailed shots.
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The main camera on the 3a Pro is similarly great. Like on the 3a, you get a 50MP sensor with an f/1.88 lens. However, it comes with a different Samsung sensor that has dual-pixel autofocus, which helps the 3a Pro lock in faster and more accurately. Here, Nothing’s image processing goes a long way to deliver photos that look pleasant. Colors are vibrant without being overbaked and there's just enough detail to satisfy anyone who's looking for it.
I didn't take too many selfies. The 3a Pro has a slight edge in that department thanks to a higher resolution 50MP sensor, but the 3a is no slouch either with its 32MP sensor. Neither phone has a front-facing camera with autofocus, but that’s often the first feature manufacturers cut to make a more affordable device.
In the US, the 3a Pro has no counterpart. There are phones like the Motorola Edge 50 Pro that offer a great telephoto at a comparable price, but it's not sold in North America. If a camera with reach is important to you, the 3a Pro's closest stateside competitor is the Galaxy S24 FE, but it normally costs $650. And for that reason, I think it's well-worth considering over dual rear camera phones like the Pixel 9a.
Performance
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
On top of updated camera hardware, the 3a and 3a Pro feature a new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset. Relative to the 2a's MediaTek Dimensity 7200 Pro, Nothing says the new Snapdragon SoC has a 33 percent faster CPU and 11 percent faster GPU. When I ran the 3a Pro through Geekbench 6, the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 earned a single-core score of 1,115 and a multicore score of 3,082. For context, the Dimensity processor scored 1,123 and 2,603 when my colleague Sam Rutherford reviewed the 2a last year. For another point of comparison, the Exynos 2400e in the Galaxy S24 FE easily beats both the Qualcomm and MediaTek chips with scores of 2,140 and 6,690, respectively.
I know that’s a lot of numbers all at once, but I put them upfront to set expectations: think of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 more as a budget chip than a flagship one. For everyday use, I found it was more than enough for my needs. With 12GB of RAM, the 3a and 3a Pro offer plenty of headroom for scrolling through social media, multi-tasking and AI applications like Gemini.
However, the phones are less ideal for gaming. When I tried to play games like Diablo Immortal and League of Legends: Wild Rift, I found it was possible to run them at 60 frames per second, but the 3a and 3a Pro would occasionally drop frames and I couldn't play either game with all their graphics settings maxed out.
Battery
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
Like the 2a, the 3a and 3a Pro feature a 5,000mAh battery. Looping a YouTube video until the battery died, the 3a went 19 and a half hours on a single charge. If you want to spend a day gaming, the 3a Pro is good for about eight hours before it needs charging. For more average use involving a mix of social media use and web browsing, I was able to get close to 14 hours of screen time.
Once the battery is empty, the 3a and 3a Pro support 50W fast charging, up from 45W on the 2a. Neither phone comes with a power adapter inside the box, and Nothing didn't provide me with one for testing, but the company claims the 3a and 3a Pro can go from zero to 100 percent battery in less than an hour using its new charger. Most people probably have a 20W power adapter lying around, and based on my observations, you can expect to charge the phones from 10 percent to full in about an hour and a half.
If your budget allows for it, it's definitely worth spending extra to buy Nothing's new charger since few phones in this price range offer charging as fast as the 3a and 3a Pro. The tradeoff is neither the 3a or 3a Pro support wireless charging, but if you ask me, I would take faster wired charging over Qi compatibility every time.
Software
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The 3a and 3a Pro arrive with Android 15 and the latest version of Nothing OS out of the box. As I mentioned at the start, Nothing has promised to support these phones with three years of Android updates, so if you buy one now, you can expect to get at least Android 18 before you might need to consider upgrading phones. Google and Samsung offer longer support, but relative to the rest of the Android ecosystem, Nothing’s policy is pretty good.
This was my first time using Nothing OS and I have to say I'm a big fan. Nothing hasn't gone overboard customizing stock Android, and there's really no bloatware to speak of. Both the system and quick settings menus mostly follow the format established by Google, so navigating the interface is easy. One nice touch is that Nothing includes its own monochromatic icon pack, with many popular third-party apps covered. There are 18 custom widgets that come standard with Nothing OS and they all look great.
The one major new software feature included with the 3a and 3a Pro is tied to the Essential Key I mentioned. A single tap of the button allows you to take a screenshot, which you can immediately annotate. If you long press instead, the 3a and 3a Pro will start recording a voice memo. Finally, a double tap opens the Essential Space, the new app where all of those screenshots and notes are stored. An algorithm will automatically transcribe any voice memos and do its best to categorize all your clippings into categories, though you can also create your own. Nothing plans to do more with Essential Space in the future, but for now it's limited in its functionality, and you can't rebind the Essential Key to do something else if you don't find the app helpful.
If you're the type of person who uses Apple Notes religiously, I can see the Essential Key and Essential Space being a great way to keep your digital life tidy. I found it less useful, mostly because I've never been much of a notetaker. I will say I do think it's a good idea, and, with a bit more iteration, Nothing could create something that feels, well, more essential.
Wrap-up
Igor Bonifacic for Engadget
The Nothing Phone 3a and 3a Pro offer tremendous value for $379 and $459. It's really hard to criticize Nothing for any of the component choices, and if you're willing to take a risk on the company's limited US warranty and want something unique, these are the phones to buy.
For everyone else, it's safer to buy something like the Pixel 9a or Galaxy S24 FE directly from your carrier. You won't have to worry about calling your carrier about your phone, and you'll get a longer one-year warranty. Additionally, both Google and Samsung offer up to seven years of software support with their latest devices.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/nothing-phone-3a-and-3a-pro-review-rising-above-the-boring-competition-120014496.html?src=rss
In late February, Anthropic released Claude 3.7 Sonnet. As the industry's first hybrid reasoning model, it was a major milestone for the company. Rather than forcing users to pick between a version of Claude that can answer a question nearly instantaneously or work through a problem step by step, the chatbot can do both, with a simple toggle allowing you to switch between Claude's different “thinking modes.” Today, Anthropic is enhancing 3.7 Sonnet by giving it the ability to search the web.
"With web search, Claude has access to the latest events and information, boosting its accuracy on tasks that benefit from the most recent data," Anthropic explains. Before today, Claude's knowledge cut-off was October 2024, meaning if you asked it about recent events, there was a good chance you wouldn't get the best answer. When Claude turns to the web for help, it will list citations you can tap or click on to fact-check its answers.
If you live in the US and pay for Claude, you can enable web search through the profile settings menu. Anthropic says it will roll out the feature to free users and more countries soon. With today's announcement, Anthropic is playing catchup. OpenAI began rolling out ChatGPT Search to paying subscribers last fall, and as of the start of this past February, all users, including those without a ChatGPT account, can use the feature for free.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/anthropics-claude-chatbot-can-now-search-the-web-too-183501166.html?src=rss
After a mountain of leaks, Google has finally announced the Pixel 9a. There's a good chance you clicked on this article to find out how the 9a compares to its predecessor. The good news is you came to the right place. Even better, it's a favorable comparison.
Pixel 9a vs Pixel 8a
For starters, the Pixel 9a features a new design. Instead of borrowing the design language of Google's more expensive devices, the new phone has its own identity. Gone is the divisive camera bar that has defined recent Pixel phones. Instead, the main camera module is nearly flush with the rear of the phone. Additionally, the new handset offers slightly better ingress protection. It's IP68-certified against water and dust, up from IP67 on the 8a. The Pixel 9a will also be available two lovely new colors: Iris and Peony. Sadly, Google won't offer an Aloe colorway this time around, at least not at release.
Outside of those changes, the 9a sports a larger 6.3 display. Like with the 8a, Google has gone with a FHD panel, meaning the 9a's screen is slightly less dense due to it being a bit larger overall. However, it's the better display. The 9a's pOLED panel is capable of reaching a peak brightness of 2,700 nits, up from 2,000 nits on the 8a. It's also HDR10+ certified, with a 120Hz refresh rate. That additional brightness will make it easier to see the 9a's screen in bright sunlight.
Internally, the 9a features Google's latest Tensor G4 SoC, paired once again with 8GB of RAM. Google has also outfitted the 9a with a larger 5,100mAh battery, up from 4,492mAh on the 8a. Just as importantly, the 9a is capable of charging at a faster 23W. That's still slow compared to a device like the Nothing 3a Pro, which is compatible with 50W power adapters, but an improvement over the 8a's glacial 18W. Oh, and if you were hoping for Qi2 support, I'm sorry to say the 9a is limited to charging at 7.5W wirelessly.
As for cameras, Google hasn't changed its winning formula. The 9a features a 48MP main camera with f/1.7 lens and optical image stabilization (OIS). On paper, that might seem like a downgrade from the 8a's 64MP main sensor, but they both feature a 0.8µm pixel pitch, meaning they're capable of capturing the same amount of light, and it appears Google sourced a newer sensor for the 9a. Otherwise, the Pixel 9a appears to feature the same ultrawide and selfie cameras as its predecessor. As always, when you buy a Pixel phone, you're buying it for Google's computational photography features, and you get all the usual standouts like Night Sight, Best Take and more.
Pixel 9a vs iPhone 16e and Nothing 3a Pro
The iPhone 16e continues to confound since its announcement in February. At $599, it's a full $100 more expensive than the Pixel 9a, and comparing the two based on hardware alone, Google's new midrange phone is the better deal. You get a significantly bigger battery, a 120Hz display and an entire extra camera. Of course, whether you should buy the 9a over the 16e will entirely depend on your preference for Android over iOS. If you like prefer Apple's software, the Pixel 9a won't do it for you.
The more interesting comparison is between the 9a and Nothing's new Phone 3a Pro. For $40 less, you get an even bigger screen, a more original design and, most notably, a periscope camera that offers 3x optical zoom. A great telephoto is really hard to find at this price range, so the 3a Pro might be worth considering for that reason alone. The tradeoff is Google's software support is unmatched, and 3a Pro comes with a limited warranty in the US.
Pixel 9a
Pixel 8a
iPhone 16e
Nothing 3a Pro
Price
$499/$559
$499/$559
$599 / $699 / $899
$459
Dimensions
154.7 x 73.3 x 8.9 mm (6.09 x 2.89 x 0.35 inches)
152.1 x 72.7 x 8.9 mm (6 x 2.9 x 0.4 inches)
146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm (5.78 x 2.82 x 0.31 inches)
163.52 x 77.5 x 8.9 mm (6.44 x 3.05 x 0.33 inches)
Weight
186g (6.56 ounces)
188g (6.7 ounces)
167g (5.88 ounces)
211g (7.44 ounces)
Screen size
6.3 inches
6.1 inches
6.1 inches
6.77 inches
Screen resolution
1080 x 2,424 pixels (421ppi)
1,080 x 2,400 pixels (430ppi)
1,170 x 2,532 pixels (460 ppi)
1,080 x 2,392 pixels (387ppi)
Screen type
pOLED
pOLED
OLED
AMOLED
SoC
Tensor G4
Tensor G3
Apple A18
Snapdragon 7s Gen 3
RAM
8GB
8GB
8GB
12GB
Battery
5,100mAh
4,492mAh
4,005mAh
5,000mAh
Storage
128 / 256 GB
128 / 256 GB
128 / 256 / 512 GB
256 GB
Rear cameras
Wide: 48MP, f/1.7
Ultrawide: 13MP, f/2.2
Wide: 64MP, f/1.89
Ultrawide: 13MP, f/2.2
Wide: 48MP, f/1.6
Wide: 50MP, f1/1.9
Ultrawide: 8MP, f/2.2
Periscope telephoto: 50MP, f/2.6
Front camera
13MP, f/2.2
13MP, f/2.2
12MP, f/1.9
50MP, f/2.2
Water / dust rating
IP68
IP67
IP68
IP64
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6E
Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6
Bluetooth
v6.0
v5.3
v5.3
v5.4
OS
Android 15
Android 15
iOS 18
Android 15 / Nothing OS 3.1
Colors
Obsidian / Porcelain / Iris / Peony
Obsidian / Porcelain / Aloe / Bay
Black / White
Black / Gray
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/heres-how-the-pixel-9a-compares-to-the-competition-141043690.html?src=rss
NVIDIA is building a desktop supercomputer. At the company's GTC conference today, CEO Jensen Huang announced DGX Spark and DGX Station. We got a first look at the former during CES earlier this year when Huang and company revealed Project Digits. Now known as DGX Spark, NVIDIA is billing the $3,000 device as the world's smallest AI supercomputer.
It features a GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip NVIDIA has shrunk down to fit inside an enclosure about the size of the previous generation Mac mini. NVIDIA says the GB10 can run up to 1,000 trillion operations per second of AI compute, making it ideal for fine-tuning the latest AI reasoning models, including the GR00T N1 robot system Huang announced at the end of his GTC keynote. The DGX Spark is available to preorder today.
NVIDIA
For researchers and data scientists who need even more AI processing power, the DGX Station features a GB300 Grace Blackwell Ultra Desktop Superchip. The GB300 offers 20 petaflops of performance and 784GB of unified system memory. NVIDIA has yet to announce a price for the DGX Station, though the company says the computer will arrive later this year, with ASUS, BOXX, Dell, HP, Lambda and Supermicro all making their own versions of the system.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/nvidias-spark-desktop-ai-supercomputer-arrives-this-summer-200351998.html?src=rss
Since the start of March, Google has been aggressively expanding the availability of AI Overviews, dropping the requirement that you need to be logged into your Google account to access the feature. Now the company is bringing yet another AI tool to Search. The next time you go online to find medical information on your phone, you may see a new "What People Suggest" panel at the top of Google.
Using AI, the feature will organize "different perspectives from online discussions into easy-to-understand themes," explains Google. For instance, say you or one of your family members suffers from arthritis, the panel will curate "real insights from people who also have the condition," with links so you can dig deeper. The feature is currently only available on mobile devices in the US.
Google doesn't say how it plans to prevent the panel from surfacing misinformation. Instead, it mentions that it has worked to improve AI Overviews related to health topics so they "continue to meet a high bar for clinical factuality." However, even after Google implemented additional safeguards to prevent AI Overviews from generating inaccurate summaries, and began using Gemini 2.0 to tackle more complicated questions, the feature can still return bizarre answers. For instance, an AI Overview recently told my colleague Kris Holt that the first day Canadians can start contributing toward their RRSP for 2026 starts on March 61.
At the same event where Google debuted the What People Suggest panel, the company had other health-related announcements. The search giant said it was releasing a series of new Medical Records APIs through its Health Connect platform. With the update, Google says it will be easier to connect your health data with data from your doctor's office. Google also provided an update on the Pixel Watch 3's loss of pulse detection feature. After announcing it was coming soon with the latest Pixel feature drop, Google now says it will roll out at end of the month.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-is-using-ai-to-display-crowdsourced-medical-information-144525853.html?src=rss
OpenAI is calling on the Trump administration to give AI companies an exemption to train their models on copyrighted material. In a blog post spotted by The Verge, the company this week published its response to President Trump's AI Action Plan. Announced at the end of February, the initiative saw the White House seek input from private industry, with the goal of eventually enacting policy that will work to "enhance America's position as an AI powerhouse" and enable innovation in the sector.
"America's robust, balanced intellectual property system has long been key to our global leadership on innovation. We propose a copyright strategy that would extend the system's role into the Intelligence Age by protecting the rights and interests of content creators while also protecting America's AI leadership and national security," OpenAI writes in its submission. "The federal government can both secure Americans' freedom to learn from AI, and avoid forfeiting our AI lead to the [People's Republic of China] by preserving American AI models' ability to learn from copyrighted material."
In the same document, the company recommends the US maintain tight export controls on AI chips to China. It also says the US government should broadly adopt AI tools. Incidentally, OpenAI began offering a version of ChatGPT designed for US government use earlier this year.
This week, Google also published its own list of recommendations for the president's AI Action Plan. Like OpenAI, the search giant says it should be able to train AI models on copyrighted material.
"Balanced copyright rules, such as fair use and text-and-data mining exceptions, have been critical to enabling AI systems to learn from prior knowledge and publicly available data, unlocking scientific and social advances," Google writes. "These exceptions allow for the use of copyrighted, publicly available material for AI training without significantly impacting rightsholders and avoid often highly unpredictable, imbalanced, and lengthy negotiations with data holders during model development or scientific experimentation."
Last year, OpenAI said it would be "impossible to train today's leading AI models without using copyrighted materials." The company currently faces numerous lawsuits accusing it of copyright infringement, including ones involving The New York Times and a group of authors led by George R.R. Martin and Jonathan Franzen. At the same time, the company recently accused Chinese AI startups of trying to copy its technologies.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-and-google-ask-for-a-government-exemption-to-train-their-ai-models-on-copyrighted-material-212906990.html?src=rss
The Emperor protects! Warhammer 40K fans, it appears you won't have to wait nearly as long for a new Space Marine game as you did for a sequel to the 2011 original. Games Workshop announced today that Saber Interactive and Focus Entertainment are working on a new installment in the series.
"Specific details on gameplay, setting and factions are tightly under wraps, but we can confirm Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 will boast an all-new immersive campaign and multiplayer modes," Games Workshop said.
The fact the miniature maker has been so quick to green light a sequel is not surprising. As of last fall, the game had sold more than 4.5 million copies across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, and I made sure to include it in Engadget's list of the best games of 2024. More broadly, Warhammer 40,000 is enjoying greater popularity than probably at any other point in its nearly 40-year history. The 40K episode of Amazon's Secret Level anthology, which follows directly after the events of Space Marine 2, was a highlight of the series and did a lot to bring the franchise to a broader audience.
Games Workshop did not share a release date or trailer for the new game, so enjoy this teaser for Astartes II, another 40K project fans are excited about, instead.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/warhammer-40k-space-marine-2-is-unsurprisingly-getting-a-sequel-200055031.html?src=rss
First announced back in 2023, NVIDIA is finally releasing a playable demo for Half-Life 2 RTX. If you own the original game on Steam (and if you don't, what's your excuse?), you can download the preview on March 18. The showcase will allow players to see how Orbifold Studios has reimagined Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt with ray tracing. NVIDIA says the full release will arrive "at a later date."
Ahead of the demo's release, NVIDIA is also releasing RTX Remix, the modding toolkit Orbifold used to remaster HL2, to the public. The suite is available to download today, and includes support for many of the company's latest technologies, including multi-frame generation via DLSS 4. Additionally, NVIDIA says RTX Remix features an “easily mastered” interface that allows modders to add fully ray-traced lighting and AI-enhanced textures to older games without fuss. For more dedicated teams, RTX Remix makes it possible to rebuild every asset in a game.
Beside the chance to see Half-Life 2 in a whole new light, there's another good reason to revisit the game next week. Viktor Antonov, Half-Life 2's visionary art director, passed away in February at the age of 52. All video games are a collaborative effort, but if there's one person who helped make Half-Life 2 so memorable, it's Antonov. He designed most of City 17 and the Combine technology that gives the game its unique visual identity.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/a-demo-of-half-life-2-rtx-arrives-next-week-on-steam-171908066.html?src=rss
