Workers at two of Amazon's warehouses in New York City are set to go on strike after the company failed to come to the bargaining table by a December 15 deadline. Unionized workers at the JFK8 facility on Staten Island and DBK4 depot in Queens voted "overwhelmingly" to authorize strikes in protest against "Amazonβs illegal refusal to recognize their union and negotiate a contract addressing the companyβs low wages and dangerous working conditions," according to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT). Engadget has contacted the Teamsters and Amazon Labor Union (ALU) for more details about the strikes.
βOur members are ready to do whatever it takes to get a contract,β Connor Spence, president of ALU-IBT Local 1, said in a statement. βWhile Amazon continues to disrespect us by refusing to listen to our concerns, our movement is only growing stronger.β
As for DBK4 β which the Teamsters say is Amazon's biggest delivery station in NYC β workers there voted almost unanimously for strike authorization. Meanwhile, workers at the DIL7 delivery depot in Skokie, Illinois, also voted "overwhelmingly" to approve a strike. The Teamsters represent hundreds of workers at that station as well. βAmazon is one of the biggest companies on Earth, but we are struggling to pay our bills,β Riley Holzworth, a DIL7 worker, said in a statement.
Amazon has lodged legal challenges against the union election win at JFK8, but it has been unsuccessful in its efforts to overturn results thus far. The company has appealed a ruling by the National Labor Relations Board that certified the union. As ABC News reports, workers claim that Amazon is using the challenges as a tactic to illegally delay union contract talks.
"For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public β claiming that they represent 'thousands of Amazon employees and drivers'. They don't, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative," Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards told ABC News. "The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges."
News of the impending strike comes just after a Senate committee released a report regarding an investigation into safety at Amazon facilities. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions claimed the company ignored internal research indicating that there was a high level of injury rates at its warehouses.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-workers-at-two-nyc-warehouses-are-set-to-go-on-strike-175236558.html?src=rss
Workers arrive to cast ballots for a union election at Amazon's JFK8 distribution center, in the Staten Island borough of New York City, U.S., March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid.
Many of us will be taking to the skies in the coming days as we travel to see loved ones for the holidays. Flying can be stressful at times but once youβre in your seat, thereβs nothing for it but to snooze or find a way to keep yourself occupied. In-flight entertaInment systems are one way to do that but having an earphone wire dangling into your meal isnβt ideal. So Twelve South's AirFly SE Bluetooth dongle can come in handy. Itβs on sale for $30, which is $5 off and a record low.
This is a small Bluetooth transmitter that you can plug into an in-flight entertainment systemβs 3.5mm audio jack. As such, you can watch movies using your wireless earphones or headphones.
The SE model allows you to connect one pair of headphones and itβll certainly do the trick for long-haul flights. It has a promised battery life of over 20 hours (you can use it while charging via USB-C too). It's not just for flights of course, as it'll works with any device that has a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The Pro model is also on sale. It has dropped by $11 to $44. You can connect two sets of earphones to this dongle simultaneously, which is handy if you want to watch a show on a tablet with your seatmate. Twelve South claims it has a battery life of over 25 hours.
Most significantly, the AirFly Pro can receive audio wirelessly as well. So you can transmit Bluetooth audio from the likes of your phone, laptop or handheld gaming system to a car without a modern infotainment system, wired speakers and so on. Meanwhile, both models have aptX Low Latency tech to minimize audio lag.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/twelve-souths-airfly-se-bluetooth-dongle-drops-to-only-30-172911330.html?src=rss
Apple TV+ has renewed its hit sci-fi show Silo for two more seasons. However, the show will end at that point after telling the full story of the Hugh Howey novels on which it's based.
βExcited to share that Silo will return for a third AND fourth season! Weβre thrilled to support the imagination and inspiration out of the UK as they continue to create world-class films and series,β Apple CEO Tim Cook wrote on X, perhaps in an attempt to butter up the creative industry in the UK.
Apple doesn't tend to share viewership data for its shows and movies. However, Nielsen said soon after the show premiered last year that Silo was a breakout hit. The series debuted as the platform's number-one drama, per Nielsen data. Viewership is said to have grown in the following weeks. (We dug it early on too.)
The second season of the dystopian drama is streaming on Apple TV+ now with new episodes arriving each Friday until January 17. Silo depicts a future in which there are only 10,000 people left on the planet and they're housed in a mile-deep bunker to protect them from a seemingly toxic surface. Anyone who tries to find out when or why this silo was constructed tends to meet their demise, so clearly there's more going on than might first meet the eye.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/apple-tv-series-silo-will-run-for-two-more-seasons-153830028.html?src=rss
Instagram is adding an option to schedule DMs. Social media expert Lindsey Gamble unearthed the feature, and Instagram confirmed to TechCrunchΒ that it's rolling out scheduled DMs to all users.
When you type a message, simply hold down the send button and you can select a date and time. It seems messages can be scheduled up to 29 days in advance. Until all timed-up messages are sent, you'll see a banner reading something like "x scheduled messages."
This will be handy for folks who want to schedule birthday messages for a bunch of friends at once or, for instance, to remind someone to pick them up from the airport on a certain day. It'll also be useful for people who tend to take care of correspondence at night and don't want everyone to know how late they're staying awake. That's definitely not something I ever do with emails.
Meanwhile, Instagram is rolling out several limited-time, end-of-year features to help you celebrate the holidays and your 2024 memories. For one thing, there's a collage tool for Stories that has an end-of-year theme. Based on images Instagram shared, it appears that you can go with a Happy New Year overlay.
There are multiple Add Yours templates based around New Year's as well, such as one you can use to prompt friends to share photos in the how 2024 started/how 2024 ended format. If you hit the like button on end-of-year Stories, you'll see a custom effect. There's a New Year font and Countdown text effect for Stories, Reels and feed posts as well.
Festive chat themes for the holidays include New Year's, one called "chill" and, of course, another based on Mariah Carey. Last but not least, if you use certain emoji based around celebrations or phrases like "Happy New Year" or "hello 2025" in DMs or notes before the end of the year, you'll see a little Easter egg of some kind.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-is-adding-a-dm-scheduling-feature-before-everyone-can-schedule-posts-203957229.html?src=rss
T-Mobile and Starlink are marching forward with their plan to offer cell service via the latter's satellites. The companies received FCC approval for the project last month, and now the provider is opening up registrations for anyone who wants to beta test the creatively dubbed T-Mobile Starlink direct-to-cell satellite service.
The first beta test is slated for 2025. It will focus on text messaging at the outset. Voice and data connectivity is slated to become available at a later date. Any T-Mobile postpaid voice customers with a compatible device can sign up for the free beta. There are limited spots available, however, and the provider says it's prioritizing first responder agencies and individuals for the program.
T-Mobile Starlink was previously granted emergency approval for a temporary activation to bolster communications during hurricanes Helene and Milton. "Even without the full constellation in place, customers with capable devices were able to receive critical emergency alerts and send and receive messages when satellites were overhead," T-Mobile said. "The system proved helpful for many that lost mobile and/or broadband access and provided critical data that will help further refine service."
With the help of Starlink, T-Mobile is planning to provide coverage to the 500,000 square miles of US land that's not covered by terrestrial cell towers. The direct-to-cell satellite constellation is designed to integrate into T-Mobile's existing network with the idea that it'll work like regular cell service. Eventually, the provider says, T-Mobile Starlink will be "available in most outdoor areas where you can see the sky."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/t-mobile-opens-beta-test-signups-for-its-starlink-satellite-cell-service-175926913.html?src=rss
If you missed out on picking up Sonos soundbars and/or speakers on sale during Black Friday, hereβs another chance for you to score good deals on them before the holidays. Theyβre now up to 39 percent off. The Ray soundbar, for one, is getting the full discount. It has dropped to $169, which is $110 off the list price.
The Ray was already the most budget-friendly Sonos soundbar, and that's even more true after this latest temporary price cut. It has a compact design but still packs a punch in terms of sound quality (including good performance on the low end), though of course larger models will deliver more immersive audio. So you might want a louder model if you have a larger living room. The lack of built-in voice control is a bit of a bummer too. But the Sonos Ray is a great entry-level model and we gave it a score of 82 in our review.
Elsewhere, other Sonos models have dropped back down to their Black Friday prices. That includes a $50 discount on the Era 100, bringing that model down to $199. This is our pick for the best midrange smart speaker and we gave it a score of 88 in our review. The Era 100 sounds great (I have four myself) and you can pair two of them for stereo audio. You can also use a couple as rear surrounds in a home theater setup by pairing them with a Sonos soundbar.
If you have some extra cash to spend and would prefer a model that sounds even better, the Era 300 is worth considering. At $359, it's currently $90 off the list price.
We feel that this speaker delivers excellent audio quality, but the design is a little odd and we found spatial audio performance to be somewhat inconsistent. Still, we gave the Era 300 a score of 80 in our review.
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The Game Awards are over β congratulations to Team Asobi for Astro Bot taking home the Game of the Year award. Our review of Astro Bot earlier this year called it "one of the best games Sony has ever made," and it seems the industry and game-playing public agree.Β
As always, the long, long stream was a hybrid award ceremony, advertising reel and game announcement marathon.Β
There were countless announcements interspersed throughout the awards, including all-new games like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet from Naughty Dog, The Witcher 4 from CD Projekt REDΒ and Split Fiction from It Takes Two studio Hazelight. It was also a show of revivals, with long-dormant franchises like Okami, Onimusha, Ninja Gaiden and Virtua Fighter returning.
You can view all of the winners at the Game Awards' official site. And if you missed it, you can watch a the Video Game Orchestra's GOTY medley; it's always a highlight of the show and watching them fit Astro Bot and Balatro in this year was a vibe β praise the keytar!
Here are our top announcements from the show, in no particular order β you can watch all the trailers below, or click on one of the headlines to get the full story.
Well, let's be honest: I don't think any of us expected to see CD Projekt Red preview The Witcher 4 any time soon, and yet the studio did just that, sharing a lengthy cinematic trailer for the upcoming sequel at the Game Awards. Even if there's no gameplay footage to be found, fans of the series will love what they see.
Naughty Dog is pivoting from post-apocalyptic fungal drama to interstellar sci-fi bounty hunting with its newest game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. The studio revealed its new title with a cinematic trailer at The Game Awards on Thursday. Intergalactic takes place thousands of years in the future and it stars bounty hunter Jordan A. Mun, played by Chilling Adventures of Sabrina actor Tati Gabrielle. Jordan finds herself stranded on the planet Sempiria, which has been cut off from the rest of the universe for more than 600 years. She's on a mission to escape Sempiria, but it looks like some vicious robots are going to get in her way.
Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is just barely in the rearview mirror and FromSoftware already has a new game in the wings. The first trailer for Elden Ring Nightreign, a standalone co-op action game, at The Game Awards 2024.
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio delivered a meaty one-two punch at The Game Awards. First came the news that the Like A Dragon studio is behind a revival of the Virtua Fighter series. Not only that, but the forever-busy studio (which, you may recall, has a Like A Dragon spinoff coming in February) is also making a Like A Dragon-style game set in the 1910s.
There were several major surprise announcements during this year's edition of The Game Awards, but perhaps none was quite as out of the blue as word of a sequel to Okami. Not only that, the original game's director, Hideki Kamiya, is at the helm.
Itβs only been a short few months since Gearbox announced Borderlands 4, the next game in its long-running looter shooter franchise. Back in August, all we had was a cryptic teaser, but at todayβs Game Awards, we got a proper look at the new game.
We told you back in 2021 that The Outer Worlds 2 was a thing that existed, and now, more than three years later, we have evidence in support of this claim: a gameplay trailer.
2Kβs consistently sporadic Mafia series will return in 2025. Mafia: The Old Country is set in Sicily in the 1900s, and will explore the origins of organized crime. Developer Hangar 13 announced that a new Mafia title was in development back in 2022, but gave few details beyond that. The game's first trailer is a melodramatic affair complete with a patriarch monologuing over candlelight, horses galloping across the plains and opera music as a backing track. This is drama, people.
Swedish indie studio Hazelight is synonymous with co-op gaming, so of course its next project is built for two players β but this time, it also features two genres. Split Fiction is a co-op adventure where players leap between sci-fi and fantasy worlds in a bid to escape the clutches of a greedy publishing corporation. It supports local and online co-op, and, fittingly, it plays out in split-screen.
BrawlersAbsolverΒ andSifuΒ put Sloclap on the map thanks to their memorable looks, slick action and crunchy animations. So naturally the next project for the French studio is [checks notes] a 5v5 arcade soccer game. Uh, sure! Rematch, which is slated to arrive next summer, perhaps makes more sense for Sloclap than first meets the eye. The studio says the title falls within its remit of making challenging action games with a stylized look.
Thick as Thieves is a new project from the team of immersive sim and stealth-action icons at OtherSide Entertainment, which includes Deus Ex creator Warren Spector, Looking Glass Studios founder Paul Neurath, and Thief: The Dark Project lead Greg LoPiccolo. Yes, that's a stacked lineup. Together, the OtherSide crew has created or worked on the System Shock, Deus Ex, Thief and Ultima Underworld series, and (along with Doug Church and Ken Levine) are largely responsible for the existence of immersive sims as we know them.
One of the highlights from The Game Awards was the moment Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul and voice actor Laura Bailey took the stage to reveal Dispatch. Set to arrive in 2025, the narrative game is from AdHoc Studio, founded by former Telltale Games developers, and features a stacked cast including Paul, Bailey, Jeffrey Wright, Erin Yvette, Jacksepticeye and others β a mix of A-list Hollywood talent and top-tier game voice actors.
There are two cool pieces of news here. First, the indie studio behind the Overcooked series, Ghost Town Games, is working on a new title called Stage Fright, and it'll support both online and couch co-op. Rad! Second, Stage Fright is being published by No Man's Sky studio Hello Games, a move that marks Hello's first foray into publishing other studios' projects. Double rad! Stage Fright is built around co-op, and its mechanics bring Overcooked-style chaos to a series of escape rooms in a spooky, Luigi's Mansion kind of world.
Capcom has announced Onimusha: Way of the Sword, the first new Onimusha game since the original 2001 PS2 version was remastered in 2019. Revealed at The Game Awards 2024, it reveals a modern take on the classic dark action game, minus the fixed perspective. The trailer for the single player, Wordplay action game shows an unnamed Samanosuke-like hero as he takes on samurai zombies in bloody combat, collecting golden orbs as before.
Resurrecting a beloved gaming series like Ninja Gaiden is always a tricky proposition. Anyone who might have worked on the franchise in its heyday has likely moved on to other projects or left the industry entirely. But judging by the talent working on Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound, the new series entry revealed at the Game Awards, I think it's safe to say the franchise is in safe hands. That's because Ragebound unites two companies who know a thing or two about making quality games.
Update, December 13, 3:00PM ET: This article was updated to include a couple more stories that rolled in after we originally published. Enjoy the Dispatch and Onimusha trailers! (The headline was also updated from "13" to "15" because math is important.) We also added a link to view all of the award winners, a shoutout to our Astro Bot review, and a link to the Game Award Orchestra's GOTY medley, just because.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-game-awards-2024-the-15-biggest-announcements-and-new-trailers-including-the-witcher-4-and-elden-ring-043849098.html?src=rss
There were several major surprise announcements during this year's edition of The Game Awards, but perhaps none was quite as out of the blue as word of a sequel to Okami. Not only that, the original game's director, Hideki Kamiya, is at the helm.Β
"Okami is a game critically acclaimed for its unique world, heartwarming story, and exciting adventures," publisher Capcom said in the teaser's YouTube description. "Now, a new adventure in the same vein as Okami has been set in motion." Details are thin so far. Production is just about to get underway.
Kamiya also directed Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe during his first stint at Konami, before leaving to form PlatinumGames. It emerged last year that Kamiya was departing the Bayonetta studio. Now we know that he's part of a new studio, Clovers, which is making this sequel alongside M-Two Inc Machine Head Works. (The shuttered Capcom subsidiary Clover Studio made the original.)Β
Okami is one of the greatest examples of video games as an art form. As Amaterasu, the Japanese sun goddess that takes the form of a white wolf, you use a paintbrush to help solve puzzles and defeat enemies. The 2006 game had an unforgettable look, but it was stylized to bolster performance on the PlayStation 2. With much more powerful hardware at their disposal, Kamiya, the studios and Capcom have the potential to deliver a sequel that's visually more than worthy of Okami.Β
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/an-okami-sequel-is-on-the-way-nearly-two-decades-later-041658276.html?src=rss
Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio delivered a meaty one-two punch at The Game Awards. First came the news that the Like A Dragon studio is behind a revival of the Virtua Fighter series. Not only that, but the forever-busy studio (which, you may recall, has a Like A Dragon spinoff coming in February) is also making a Like A Dragon-style game set in the 1910s.
The clip was mostly cinematic, but there was a brief clip of gameplay, which had swooshing, thudding sound effects that fans of the series may well appreciate. A few more details were revealed during a VF Direct stream shortly after The Game Awards concluded on Thursday night.
Shuju Utsumi, COO of publisher Sega, said that "this is the first time since 2006 that the original team will be back on" Virtua Fighter. That year was when Virtua Fighter 5, the last all-new entry in the series, was released (more on that momentarily).
Riichiro Yamada, the producer of the upcoming new entry, said that "constantly challenging the innovations and realities of the current day has always been a part of the series' DNA," and his team is continuing in that tradition. Their goal is to "make every aspect of it feel fresh and exciting." Akira and Stella are among the returning characters.Β
While you're waiting for this new title, you can check out Virtua Fighter 5 R.E.V.O. This is a PC port of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, a remaster by RGG and Sega AM2. It's set to hit Steam on January 28 for $20, though there's a 20 percent discount if you pre-order. It includes 4K visuals and rollback netcode (a feature that predicts players' moves to mitigate network lag). An open beta test is running until December 17. A major update of Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown on PlayStation 4 just went live as well.
Like a good Virtua Fighter player, RGG just can't stay still. Another title from the studio was revealed at The Game Awards. For now, this one's called Project Century. It's not confirmed if this is a game that's officially in the Like A Dragon canon, but it sure looks like it is β albeit one that's set over a century ago.
Our protagonist is attacked by a few hoodlums in broad daylight in the middle of a busy street, before we see him battle various goons using crowbars and broken bottles. It's pretty, bloody and (typically for an RGG game) appears to be bustling with life.Β
Again, the trailer contained pre-alpha footage, so this game is likely a couple of years away. But there's plenty to look forward to for fans of RGG's work.
Update 12/13 12:48PM ET: Added more details about the Virtua Fighter projects.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/rgg-reveals-a-virtua-fighter-revival-and-a-brawler-set-in-the-1910s-025324254.html?src=rss
It was always a question of when, not if, Final Fantasy VII RebirthΒ would land on PC, and Square Enix took a moment at The Game Awards to spill the beans. The second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake series is coming to PC on January 23. You'll get 30 percent off if you preorder via Steam or the Epic Games Store.
This version will have upgraded lighting, variable refresh rate support and enhanced textures and modeling. NVIDIA's DLSS upscaling tech will also be supported.Β
There will be three graphics presets, though you can of course adjust things to your liking. The framerate will max out at 120 fps. There's full keyboard and mouse support as well. In addition, Square Enix says "the team is working hard to optimize the game for Steam Deck."Β
A Reddit AMA with producer and director Yoshinori Kitase and Naoki Hamaguchi is set for December 13 at 9PM ET. We may find out more details about the PC version then.
The Game Awards was a fitting stage to reveal the PC release date, as Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was one of the ceremony's game of the year nominees. It scored seven nominations overall, the joint most alongside Astro Bot (which took home four awards, including the top prize).Β
Update 12/13 11:28AM ET: Added more details about the PC version of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/final-fantasy-vii-rebirth-is-coming-to-pc-on-january-23-013602136.html?src=rss
Brawlers AbsolverΒ and SifuΒ put Sloclap on the map thanks to their memorable looks, slick action and crunchy animations. So naturally the next project for the French studio is [checks notes] a 5v5 arcade soccer game. Uh, sure!
Rematch, which is slated to arrive next summer, perhaps makes more sense for Sloclap than first meets the eye. The studio says the title falls within its remit of making challenging action games with a stylized look.
Each human player controls one character, including the goalkeeper, though you may find yourself quickly transitioning from a striker role to defense. Given the third-person perspective, it may feel more aligned with Rocket League or the career mode in the FIFA/EA Sports FC series rather than the full-pitch view you see in most of the latter's modes.
Rematch is skill-based, so you won't be packing your team with players filled with high stats Γ la FC Ultimate Team. How you perform is down to your own abilities, not how many points you've plowed into your player's shooting and dribbling attributes.
Sloclap designed the game for fast-flowing action. There are no fouls or offsides here. The ball doesn't go out of play as there's a Rocket League-style boundary wall. You even can use that to your advantage by bouncing the ball off the barrier to set up a teammate for a shot at goal.
Soccer is about "being in the right place at the right time and executing to perfection," according to Pierre Tarno, creative director and executive producer at Sloclap. The studio is hoping to capture that in Rematch. Along with the importance of positioning, the game is said to place an onus on "deep tactics."
Sloclap
Goalkeepers don't need to be kicking their heels while waiting for the opposition to take a shot at their goal. They can push up outside of their penalty area and play as a Manuel Neuer-style sweeper keeper to close down counter attacks if they're willing to take a risk.
When your team has possession, but you don't have the ball, you can call for a pass. The player who has it will see a line to the teammate who made the request, which should help with spatial awareness (there seems to be a minimap too).
Sloclap built the game around three core tenets: helping players feel like athletes, the pressure of high-stakes matches and the joy of being part of a team. "It's about the joy of playing football with friends," Tarno said, and as much about setting up a teammate to bag a goal β perhaps with a perfectly executed volley β as it is to score yourself. And when you lose a game, the idea is that you'll dust off and queue up with your friends for another one. Hence the name Rematch.
Along with competitive modes and quick play options, you can expect private games with customizable rules. There's a seasonal content system that will gradually introduce more features, events, environments and ways to customize your character.
Don't expect to see the likes of Liverpool or Real Madrid in Rematch, at least not right away. The game is set in the future, so there isn't much in the way of licensing, but Sloclap isn't ruling out such agreements down the line.
Rematch will be a premium game rather than a free-to-play title. It's coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC next summer. Sloclap plans to run beta tests this spring.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/the-next-game-from-the-sifu-team-is-a-5v5-arcade-soccer-title-005902694.html?src=rss
Epic Games has struck a deal with TelefΓ³nica to have its mobile storefront pre-installed on millions of compatible Android devices. As such, those who buy a phone from a TelefΓ³nica network such as O2 or Movistar in Spain, the UK, Germany and Spanish-speaking Latin America will immediately have the app, which offers access to Fortnite, Fall Guys and Rocket League Sideswipe. Epic will bring third-party games to the storefront as well, while the partners plan to offer mobile gamers on TelefΓ³nica's networks extra perks over the next year or so.
TelefΓ³nica has more than 392 million customers. As such, this deal could bring Fortnite and Fall Guys to an even bigger audience.
Epic debuted its mobile games store a few months ago after years of wrangling with Apple and Google over the duo's purported smartphone and tablet duopoly β and having to give the companies a share of revenue from in-app purchases. Among other things, Epic accused Google of blocking OnePlus from offering users a way to install Fortnite without having to go through the Google Play store.
However, Epic has had mixed results in its legal battles with Apple and Google. It won an antitrust case against the latter, with a judge determining last year that Google had an illegal monopoly on app distribution and in-app billing on Android devices. The judge also ruled that Google's distribution deals with other games companies were anticompetitive. But it largely lost a similar case against Apple.
The Epic Games Store mobile app is available on iOS in the European Union (where Apple was forced to open up iOS to third-party app marketplaces) and around the world on Android. Epic also plans to bring it to iOS devices in the UK in the second half of 2025.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/epic-games-app-store-will-be-preinstalled-on-millions-of-android-phones-175158241.html?src=rss
Google's latest push into extended reality is taking shape. While the company isn't entirely ready to show off any products just yet, it has laid out a vision for a unified Android XR ecosystem that will span a range of devices β such as virtual reality headsets and mixed reality glasses β in partnership with Samsung and Qualcomm.
This is evidently Alphabet's latest attempt to compete with the likes of Meta and Apple on the extended reality front. The company has dabbled in this arena in the past with the likes of Google Glass, Daydream and Google Cardboard, programs that have found their way to the Google Graveyard. Android XR seems much more ambitious, and having some big-name partners on board from the jump indicates that Alphabet is much more serious about extended reality this time around.
Google has been beavering away on XR behind the scenes despite shutting down some of its higher-profile projects in that realm. "Google is not a stranger to this category," Sameer Samat, president of Android Ecosystem at Google, told reporters ahead of the announcement. "We, like many others, have made some attempts here before. I think the vision was correct, but the technology wasn't quite ready."
One area where Google thinks that technology has advanced to the point where it's ready to try again with XR is artificial intelligence. Gemini will be deeply integrated into Android XR. By tapping into the power of the chatbot and having a user interface based around voice and natural conversation, Google and its partners are aiming to deliver experiences that aren't exactly possible to pull off using gestures and controllers.
"We are fully in what we refer to as the Gemini Era, and the breakthroughs in AI with muti-modal models are giving all of us totally new ways of interacting with computers," Samat said. "We believe a digital assistant integrated with your XR experience is the killer app for the form factor, like what email or texting was for the smartphone."
Google believes that smart glasses and headsets are a more natural form factor to explore this tech with, rather than holding up your smartphone to something in the world that you want Gemini to take a look at. To that end, the wide array of XR devices that are popping up, such as VR headsets with passthrough (the ability to see the outside world while wearing one) is another factor in Google's push into that space.
We'll get our first real look at Android XR products next year, including one that Google is developing in partnership with Samsung. The first headset, currently dubbed Project Moohan (which means "infinity" in Korean), will feature "state-of-the-art displays," passthrough and natural multi-modal input, according to Samsung. It's slated to be a lightweight headset that's ergonomically designed to maximize comfort.
Renderings of the Moohan prototype (pictured above) suggest the headset will look a little like the Apple Vision Pro, perhaps with a glass visor on the front. Along with the headset, Samsung is working on Google XR glasses, with more details to come soon.
Google
But nailing the hardware won't matter much if you can't do anything interesting with it. As such, Google is now looking to bring developers into the fold to create apps and products for Android XR. The company is offering developers APIs, an emulator and hardware development kits to help them build out XR experiences.
On its side of things, Google is promising an "infinite desktop" for those using the platform for productivity. Its core apps are being reimagined for extended reality as well. Those include Chrome, Photos, Meet, Maps (with an immersive view of landmarks) and Google Play. On top of that, mobile and tablet apps from Google Play are said to work out of the box.
On YouTube, it looks like you'll be able to easily transition from augmented reality into a VR experience. And in Google TV, you'll be able to switch from an AR view to a virtual home movie theater when you start a film.Β
A demo video showed a headset wearer using a combination of their voice and a physical keyboard and mouse to navigate a series of Chrome windows. Circle to Search will be one of the many features. After you've used the tool to look up something, you can use a Gemini command to refine the results. It'll be possible to pull 3D image renderings from image search results and manipulate them with gestures.
Google
As for AR glasses β essentially next-gen Google Glass β it seems that you'll be able to use those to translate signage and speech, then ask Gemini questions about the details of, say, a restaurant menu. Other use cases include advice on how to position shelves on a wall (and perhaps asking Gemini to help you find a tool you put down somewhere), getting directions to a store and summarizing group chats while you're on the go.
Thanks to advances in technology, AR glasses look much like regular spectacles these days, as we've seen from the likes of Meta and Snap. That should help Google avoid the whole "Glass-holes" discourse this time around given that there shouldn't be an obscenely obvious camera attached to the front. But the advancements might give cause for concern when it comes to privacy and letting those caught in the camera's cone of vision know that they're perhaps being filmed.
Privacy is an important consideration for Android XR. Google says it's building new privacy controls for Gemini on the platform. More details about those will be revealed next year.
Google
Meanwhile, games could play a major factor in the success of Android XR. They're a focus for Meta's Quest headsets, of course. On the heels of its various missteps with Stadia, Google is hoping to make it as easy as possible for developers to port their games to its ecosystem.
Not only that, Unity is one of the companies that's supporting Android XR. Developers will be able to create experiences for it using the engine. Unity says it will offer full support for Android XR, including documentation and optimizations to help devs get started. They can do that now in public experimental versions of Unity 6.
Resolution Games (Demeo) and Google's own Owlchemy Labs (Job Simulator) are among the studios that plan to bring titles built in Unity to Android XR. The process is said to be straightforward. "This is as simple a port as youβre ever going to encounter," Owlchemy Labs CEO Andrew Eiche said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Unity has teamed up with Google and film director Doug Liman's studio 30 Ninjas to make a "new and innovative immersive film app that will combine AI and XR to redefine the cinematic experience."
Since gaming is set to play a sizable role in Android XR, it stands to reason that physical controllers will still be a part of the ecosystem. Not many people are going to want to play games using their voice.
But that's the key: Android XR is shaping up to be a broad ecosystem of devices, not just one. This strategy has paid dividends for Google, given the spectrum of phones, tablets, cars and TVs that variants of Android are available on. It will be hoping to replicate that success with Android XR.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/google-lays-out-its-vision-for-an-android-xr-ecosystem-160001103.html?src=rss
There's been a bit of a resurgence of stop-motion games in recent years. For one thing, The Spirit of the Samurai is set to arrive on Thursday and it looks pretty compelling (you can play as a cat in some sections!). During the Day of the Devs showcase, we got a look at another intriguing stop-motion game that's a bit further out. This one's animated entirely with felt.
Feltopia is the first project from creative director Andrea Love and her team at Wooly Games. Love has long used needle-felted wool to create stop-motion animations for commercials, short films and social media, but hadn't seen the medium being used in a game before. "We realized there was a gap in the market for this type of aesthetic, and decided to fill it," Love said.
Love describes Feltopia, a cozy spin on the side-scrolling shoot 'em up genre, as a "cute 'em up." You play as a sheep herder named Skyrider who uses magical powers to purge the world of an encroaching smog and save their Rainbow Flock. You're not killing enemies here. Instead, you're restoring infected creatures and bosses to their true forms.
Wooly Games
"Wool lends itself really well to the natural world, so I knew I wanted to create a game with sweeping landscapes and lots of elemental effects," Love said. "The classic side scroller mechanics mixed with our hand-felted, stop-motion techniques gives Feltopia both a novel and nostalgic feeling, which is a balance I like to hit with my animation work. Our goal is to take a typically violent genre and invert it so it is about transformation and healing rather than destruction and death.β
Feltopia looks charming as heck. It's immediately apparent that Love and her team have infused a ton of personality into their first game, and this could be one worth keeping your eye on.
Wooly Games, which started work on Feltopia last year, is aiming to release the game in mid-2026. It'll hit Steam first and arrive on other platforms later.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/feltopia-is-a-side-scrolling-shoot-em-up-animated-in-felt-182353538.html?src=rss
What would it look like if you took the fast-paced arena shooter stylings of Doom Eternal and flipped the gory, grimdark aesthetics upside down? You might end up with something like Incolatus: Don't Stop, Girlypop!.
It's a "Y2K girly-pop arena-style movement shooter where standing still is not an option," as game director Jane Fiona of Funny Fintan Softworks put it during the Day of the Devs showcase on Wednesday. "The faster you go, the more damage you deal and the more you heal."
In Incolatus, a mining corp is trying to drain the world of love, its most precious resource. Trees are dying and fairies have been ejected into the world at large, and it's up to you to save their homes β so you might argue that it's even darker than Doom Eternal. Thanks, capitalism.
Funny Fintan Softworks
After you (a revolutionary eco warrior) eliminate an enemy robot, you can grab the remaining love that it was running on to power up your weapons and deliver more damage. The love that you collect also plays a factor in the dress-up metagame. You can change the look of your character's arms to personalize things a bit. If you donate love to fairies you encounter, you'll get more customization options for your arms and guns.
Five cool points to anyone who correctly guessed that movement is a critical aspect of Incolatus. The quicker you move, the more your guns expand with additional barrels and scopes.
Funny Fintan has incorporated its own take on bunny hopping (a classic arena shooter movement technique that a player can use to boost their speed). It's called wavehopping, and you'll need to slam to the ground, double jump and dash β oddly enough, mimicking the form of a wave β to take advantage of it.
Incolatus, which is coming to Steam "soon,"Β immediately stands out thanks to its hyperpop vibe with bright pinks and greens, as well as the era-appropriate soundtrack. As it happens, the "don't stop moving" mantra has lodged that one S Club song firmly in my brain.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/incolatus-dont-stop-girlypop-may-be-the-y2k-fever-dream-arena-shooter-you-never-knew-you-needed-182348483.html?src=rss
There's something inherently compelling about one-button games since developers are giving themselves a tight constraint for their creativity. Sometimes, they take full advantage of that. One of my favorite games from this year, One Btn Bosses, gets it right thanks to tight controls and never seeming like it's unfair.
Faraway is an upcoming game in a similar vein. This procedurally generated title from developer Steph Thirion (aka Little Eyes) and publisher Annapurna Interactive is coming to PC in 2025. Faraway has been a long time coming β Thirion announced it for iPhone all the way back in 2010. Since the initial unveiling, the solo developer has remade the game with a captivating new art style.
You play as a shooting star and you use the gravitational force of the closest star to swing your way toward your destination. When you get there, you'll use the same mechanic to draw a constellation of random stars. If you create loops between them, you'll get a score multiplier. Along with the main procedurally generated levels, there's a mode that asks you to draw specific shapes. Another puzzle mode prompts you to get the highest possible score from a certain formation.
During Wednesday's Day of the Devs showcase, Thirion (who made early iPhone standout Eliss) said he took inspiration from Tetris to create a minimalist, replayable game with random elements and lots of depth. On the surface, Faraway has relaxing audio and visuals, but you'll need to keep your brain engaged if you want to get a great score.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/chill-puzzle-game-faraway-sees-you-drawing-star-constellations-with-one-button-172138741.html?src=rss
Your phone is a gateway to an increasingly large swathe of gaming options. However, using a touchscreen to control a game, especially one that requires precise inputs, isn't for everyone. So a dedicated physical controller may be a more optimal solution. One of the best mobile game controllers is the Backbone One, which is back on sale. The second-gen USB-C PlayStation Edition has dropped down to $69, while the black model is a dollar more. As such, you can save $31, but to see the lower price on Amazon, you'll need to add the controller to your cart.
Backbone added iPhone support to the USB-C model around the time of the iPhone 15 announcement. That was the first iPhone lineup with a USB-C connector after Apple shifted away from the Lightning port.
Along with native App Store and Play Store titles β such as those included with Apple Arcade and Netflix subscriptions β the Backbone One is compatible with cloud gaming services such as Xbox Cloud Gaming, Amazon Luna and GeForce Now. It also works with remote play apps for PC, PlayStation and Xbox.
The Backbone One doesn't require a dedicated power supply as it runs on your phone's battery. Since it hooks into the USB-C port, there's minimal latency. Passthrough charging and a 3.5mm jack for your headset are available too.
Backbone designed the device with help from the team behind the Xbox 360 controller. The company says the One features responsive triggers, tactile buttons and clickable thumbsticks. It was also created with ergonomics in mind.
The controller comes with a trial of the Backbone+ subscription. One of the main perks is that you can use it to play games on any compatible device with a USB-C port, such as an iPad, Mac or PC. Other features include screen recording and game recommendations. However, you don't need to be a member to use the Backbone One as a games controller.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-backbone-one-mobile-controller-is-back-on-sale-for-69-160035667.html?src=rss
Still Wakes The DeepΒ is one of this year's standout horror games. It's a narrative-heavy survival title that pits you β an electrician stuck on an oil rig β against eldritch terrors from the briny depths of the North Sea. Not only that, but because you're off the coast of Scotland, there's some harsh weather to contend with too. If that all sounds overly cheery for you, there's a new option to add to the gloominess, thanks to a black-and-white mode.
After you've installed the game's latest update, you can toggle this so-called Silver Screen filter at any time during your playthrough via the video section in the settings. Developer The Chinese Room (Dear Esther and Everybodyβs Gone to the Rapture) has also added a chapter select feature, so you can now relive your favorite moments from this dark tale in monochrome if you choose.
Engadget Senior Editor Jessica Conditt described Still Wakes The Deep as a modern horror classic in her review and called it one of this generation's most beautiful games. It sounds great too β having actual Scottish actors voicing the characters certainly helps add authenticity.
Still Wakes The Deep is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. It's included in Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass and Game Pass for Console.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/still-wakes-the-deeps-eldritch-terrors-are-now-available-in-a-black-and-white-mode-173209350.html?src=rss
Amazon sells practically everything, including tiny homes, so why not add cars to the mix? Starting today, users in 48 cities across the continental US can buy a new Hyundai car from a local dealership via Amazon Autos.
You can check out which models are available at your local dealership and browse by make, model, trim, color and features. The marketplace has finance options and a way to schedule a pick-up from a local dealership. You can even get an instant valuation of your current vehicle's trade-in value, then just drop it off when you collect your new ride.
The metropolitan areas where Amazon Autos is available at the jump are Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Beaumont-Port Arthur, Birmingham, Boston, Champaign/Springfield, Charlotte, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia, Columbus, Dallas, Denver, El Paso, Fond Du Lac, Ft. Myers/Naples, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, Harrisonburg, Hartford, Houston, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Nashville, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Raleigh-Durham, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Sheboygan, Springfield, St. Louis, Tampa, W. Palm Beach, Washington DC.
Amazon says it will add more Hyundai dealerships over time (the two sides reached a deal last year to offer this service). Next year, Amazon Autos will include more manufacturers, brands, cities and features.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/you-can-now-buy-your-next-ev-on-amazon-155634838.html?src=rss
When it comes to robot vacuum cleaners, there's one brand that probably springs to mind before any other. But there are plenty of great options out there beyond Roomba, and one of our favorite models is on sale for nearly half off. The Anker Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Max has dropped to $129, which is a discount of 48 percent or $120.
This is our pick for the best ultra budget robot vacuum. Since it has such a deep discount right now, that makes it even more of a budget-friendly recommendation.
We appreciate the slim profile that makes it easy for the RoboVac 11S to clean under low furniture. We found the vacuum to have a long battery life and good suction power, especially for its size.Β
The main drawback is the lack of Wi-Fi connectivity. That means you won't be able to bark a request for a spot clean at your voice assistant. Instead, you'll need to use a remote to control the vacuum, but it still has many of the features you'd expect from an app-operated model, such as scheduled cleanings. You can also start a cleaning by pressing a button on the top of the unit.
The RoboVac 11S starts cleaning in auto mode with the aim of optimizing the process as it saunters around your home. However, you can select spot cleans and edge cleaning using the remote. One other welcome feature, especially for a robot vacuum in this price range, is the inclusion of effective object detection. So if you're on the hunt for a wallet-friendly robot vacuum for yourself or a loved one, the RoboVac 11S is definitely worth considering β especially at this price.
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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-robot-vacuums-is-on-sale-for-only-129-154516914.html?src=rss
