According to the Wall Street Journal, various US authorities are investigating TP-Link’s routers, linking them to China-backed cyberattacks. The Commerce, Justice and Defense departments each have their own investigations, and sources told the Journal the Commerce Department has subpoenaed TP-Link. These investigations may contribute to a potential ban on these routers next year.

In September, the Journal reported on a wave of Chinese cyberattacks in the US that involved many TP-Link routers. The attackers targeted government organizations and Defense Department suppliers, as well as non-government organizations and think tanks.

TP-Link currently holds about 65 percent of the US router market for small businesses and homes. They're also widely used by the Department of Defense and NASA. But sources told the Journal the devices often ship with security flaws, and that the company fails to address these issues or engage with the security community.

“We welcome any opportunities to engage with the U.S. government to demonstrate that our security practices are fully in line with industry security standards, and to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to the U.S. market, U.S. consumers, and addressing U.S. national security risks,” a TP-Link spokesperson told WSJ.

If TP-Link routers are banned, it would be the biggest Chinese telecom equipment extraction in the US since the 2019 Huawei ban.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/tp-link-routers-are-being-investigated-by-several-us-authorities-151552304.html?src=rss

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© Bildagentur-online via Getty Images

The Secret Level official X account just teased a new season for the series of short animations. For those unaware, Secret Level adapts various games and franchises like Warhammer 40,000, Pac-Man and Concord into short animated episodes. The team behind it is the same that did Love, Death and Robots on Netflix.

We don’t know much more about the second season of Secret Level. So far there's no information on what games season two will adapt, or when that season will premier.

You can now watch the first season of Secret Level on Amazon Prime Video now, where it recently premiered. There are currently 15 episodes based on various games. The short based on Warhammer 40,000 reminds me of the Astartes project. Additionally, the Pac-Man-based short is actually a sort of reveal for a Bandai Namco game, Shadow Labyrinth.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/were-getting-a-second-season-of-secret-level-140856980.html?src=rss

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OnePlus will launch its new flagship series, the OnePlus 13, on January 7, 2025. The first phone in the series to be revealed will be the aptly-named OnePlus 13, and the company will also show off the new OnePlus Buds Pro 3.

The OnePlus 13 will come in three colorways: Arctic Dawn, Black Eclipse and Midnight Ocean. The Midnight Ocean colorway will also be the first phone to use micro-fiber vegan leather. In contrast, the Arctic Dawn edition has a new glass coating, which is another first in the industry, as claimed by OnePlus.

The firsts don’t end there. All models of the OnePlus 13 will have IP68 and IP69 ratings. IP68 certification shows that the device is protected against submerging and dust, but the IP69 rating takes water resistance a step further, promising that the device can withstand high-pressure jets of water. The OnePlus 13 might be the first mainstream smartphone to get IP69 certification.

The screen will have a 2K120FPS resolution and a maximum brightness of 4,500 nits. OnePlus says the display will redefine “clarity, brightness, and color vibrancy.”

The OnePlus 13 will use OxygenOS 15, the newest version of the company’s proprietary operating system. This OS will integrate many AI features, with AI-powered searches standing out. The feature, called Intelligent Search, is supposed to help users locate files using natural prompts instead of manually searching for them. To ensure smooth performance, there’s a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset onboard, a newly-released chipset.

As for the OnePlus Buds Pro 3, they will have AI translation powered by the OnePlus 13. The earbuds will come in a Sapphire Blue colorway, but no other information about them is available. Other phones in the series will be announced soon, as well, but as for now we don’t have any specifics on prices or release dates for the first phone and buds. Hopefully we’ll get those in January.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/oneplus-will-launch-its-new-flagship-the-oneplus-13-series-on-january-7-165616811.html?src=rss

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NVIDIA has just revealed the Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit, which is the successor to its Jetson Orin Nano kit from 2022. This new compact generative AI supercomputer can fit into the palm of your hand. Included in the developer kit is an 8GB Jetson Orin Nano system-on-module and a reference carrier board.

In terms of performance, the Jetson Orin Nano Super can reach 68 trillion operations per second (TOPS), a 70 percent increase from its predecessor. NVIDIA also claims a 1.7 times improvement in generative AI inference performance and a 50 percent bandwidth increase to 102GB per second. As for CPU frequency, it’s now 1.7GHz, a modest bump compared to its predecessor’s 1.5GHz.

NVIDIA also claims that it “delivers gains” for all popular generative AI models. These include large language models (LLMs), vision language models and vision transformers.

The Jetson Orin Nano Super’s software updates can also boost its predecessor, which is great news if you have the original Jetson Orin Nano. All you need to do is to download the software and install the update. That said, NVIDIA didn’t give any specifics on how the older device’s performance would change.

The Jetson Orin Nano Super Developer Kit is currently available from NVIDIA-approved resellers. It’s currently just $249, down from its predecessor’s $499, making it the most affordable product of its kind right now.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/nvidias-latest-compact-generative-ai-supercomputer-is-also-its-cheapest-153128086.html?src=rss

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True wireless earbuds are all the rage right now, as they can provide an excellent listening experience without the hassle of wires. The Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds are a solid option that are now almost 30 percent off, dropping from $270 to $190. That’s a record-low price for these buds, and, Amazon is also including a $20 gift card to make it into a bundle.

Besides delivering some nice, creamy bass combined with plenty of detail, the Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds have an adaptive equalizer function that lets you tune the sound to your liking. The EQ is AI-powered and makes adjustments depending on your environment. Similarly, the adaptive noise cancelling (ANC) works well and kicks in when the earbuds detect you’re in a loud environment.

Another standout feature is the AI interpreter function, which can hear what another person is saying and translate it for you in real-time. However, the interpretation feature requires a compatible Samsung device to work.

According to our review, the Samsung Galaxy Buds 3 Pro earbuds have no issue hitting its advertised battery life. With ANC on, they can last six hours, and the charging case provides an additional 20 hours of ANC-on usage. We also counted it among the best wireless earbuds in 2024.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/get-a-free-20-amazon-gift-card-when-you-buy-the-samsung-galaxy-buds-3-pro-141310758.html?src=rss

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The 2024 version of the Beats Pill is currently down to a record-low price of $100 from $150. This is part of a larger Beats promotion, which includes other Beats Pill models, Beats Solo 4 headphones and Beats Fit Pro true wireless earbuds.

The 2024 Beats Pill has a maximum speaker output of 100 watts, which is enough for outdoor listening. To help with the bass levels, the woofer can now displace 90 percent more air volume to deliver a fuller bass compared to the previous model. Beats doesn’t ignore the higher frequencies either, as the Pill has great highs and mids without much distortion even at higher volumes.

The 2024 Beats Pill has an IP67 rating against water and dust, making it suitable for outdoor use. The battery lasts a maximum of 24 hours, depending on how loud you’re playing your music. To prevent you from accidentally dropping it, the speaker comes with a removable lanyard.

The Beats Pill can be paired with another unit to produce a stereo effect, separating the left and right channels out to separate Pills. Besides Stereo mode, there’s Amplify mode, which plays the same audio through both speakers at the same volume.

Also, we listed the Beats Pill as one of the best portable Bluetooth speakers. It’s even capable of playing lossless audio through a USB-C connection.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-latest-beats-pill-is-50-off-right-now-171539806.html?src=rss

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The European Space Agency (ESA) has just signed a €10.6 ($11.1) billion contract to build the IRIS constellation. It’s the EU’s most ambitious space program in a decade and is designed to compete with Elon Musk’s Starlink network. The contract will last 12 years, and the first launch is expected in 2029.

IRIS, which stands for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite, will consist of almost 300 satellites launched by European rockets. It’s built on top of two other EU satellite constellations, Copernicus and Galileo, the largest Earth-observation program and most accurate GPS system, respectively. Though most of the satellites’ work capacity will be used to provide commercial broadband services, a significant part is dedicated to security and crisis management. Most of the satellites are planned for a low earth orbit, but some will be in a medium earth orbit.

Of the €10.6 billion, €6 billion comes from the EU, while the ESA is forking over €550 million. The remaining €4 billion will come from the private sector.

The ESA is partnering with the European Commission through SpaceRISE, an industrial consortium led by European satellite operators SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat. Other members include Deutsche Telekom, Airbus and Thales, according to the Financial Times.

Since IRIS is many years away, Starlink will likely dominate the current satellite internet market. Recently, SpaceX completed the first direct-to-cell satellite constellation, which will allow phones to be connected even in remote areas.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/space/europe-will-build-its-own-secure-satellite-network-161115164.html?src=rss

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For years, reporting has claimed employees and contractors at Amazon's warehouses are injured at unusually high rates, often attributed to a high pace of work. On Sunday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions published an investigation that claims Amazon's own internal research reached similar conclusions — and then ignored them, The New York Times reported.

The Senate Committee, chaired by Senator Bernie Sanders, published its 160-page report, which among other things, details the results of two internal Amazon initiatives meant to study worker injuries: Project Elderwand and Project Soteria. The former identified an upper bound of repetitive motions workers could perform before substantial risk of injury would occur, and noted that current quotes were above that rate. The latter indicated a link between work speed and injury. Both studies recommended relaxing the pace of work, but executives chose not to do so.

Amazon spokeswoman Kelly Nantel said that Sanders’ report used what she called "out-of-date documents" (the studies were conducted in 2020 and 2021). She continued saying that Amazon’s work environment has improved recently, and that a Washington State judge had rejected allegations that Amazon required its employees to work in an unsafe environment.

Amazon was cited last year by OSHA at half a dozen warehouses for "failing to keep workers safe." An investigation by the Washington Post in 2021 found Amazon warehouse workers are seriously injured at a rate nearly twice that of the warehousing industry at large; it echoed similar findings by Reveal from 2019.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-ignored-internal-studies-on-injuries-senate-investigation-claims-144611988.html?src=rss

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When the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter finally flew for the last time and went silent, many people thought that would be the last we heard about it. However, NASA engineers from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California are assessing its final flight right now. This is the first-ever aircraft accident investigation performed on a craft on another planet. Ingenuity already had the distinct honor of being the first aircraft to fly on another world.

Ingenuity was only meant to fly five times over 30 days, but it flew for almost three years, clocking 72 total flights. Flight 72, its last, resulted in a crash that caused it to be permanently grounded. All four of its rotor blades snapped as the helicopter fell onto a sand ripple and rolled, permanently grounding it.

Since Ingenuity’s vision navigation system couldn’t find enough surface features in the Jezero Crater to track, it couldn’t land properly. The hard landing likely caused the helicopter to roll, but this tragic final flight isn’t all bad news. Today, scientists and engineers use data from Ingenuity’s flights to work toward a better aircraft design. The Mars Chopper is one such example, a rotorcraft that could theoretically fly up to two miles a day.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/science/nasa-is-investigating-the-ingenuity-helicopters-final-flight-on-mars-152714096.html?src=rss

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LG has discontinued all of its Blu-ray players, including its UBK80 and UBK90 UHD Blu-ray players, according to FlatpanelsHD. Remaining stock will still be available, but the company doesn’t have plans to make more. This decision isn’t surprising, as LG isn’t the first company to pull out of the UHD Blu-ray player market.

UHD Blu-ray is a separate format from standard Blu-ray, as the former has a maximum resolution of 3840x2160 pixels (4K). Blu-ray is 1920x1080 (FHD) instead.

The UBK80 and UBK90 UHD Blu-ray players were introduced in 2018, which was also the year Oppo exited this market. Samsung would make its own exit in 2019, giving consumers even fewer choices for UHD Blu-ray players. Even though LG is discontinuing all of its Blu-ray players, LG Korea has confirmed in a statement to FlatpanelsHD that a total exit isn’t what’s happening, as the company as a whole is leaving the door open for a comeback if demand grows.

There’s a bit of a silver lining for the UHD Blu-ray market still. Magnetar’s UDP800 player can handle the format and more, even functioning as a hi-fi audio player. Plus, the PS5 can also handle the format, but it can’t play Dolby Vision, a favorite of high-end video enthusiasts. And the Xbox Series X only plays Dolby Vision for games and streaming apps, not optical discs.

Streaming has only become more popular by the day, and many people no longer own a functioning CD player, much less a Blu-ray one. With demand being so low, it’s not hard to see why LG decided to discontinue its Blu-ray players.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/lg-will-stop-making-all-of-its-uhd-blu-ray-and-blu-ray-players-145054425.html?src=rss

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Mozilla has removed the “Do Not Track” (DNT) feature that had been present in Firefox since 2009, according to Windows Report. It was the first browser to adopt the feature. This change will arrive to all users who install version 135 and beyond, but Nightly users who opt to test experimental builds can already see the option missing from their browser settings.

Firefox isn’t the first browser to remove the DNT function. In fact, Apple had already done so in 2019 for Safari.

Before decrying Mozilla’s decision, it’s crucial to understand what DNT is. It’s not an order but merely a suggestion to websites to stop tracking you. However, most websites ignore DNT requests, meaning it’s completely useless in today’s context. Firefox’s help page also now reflects this upcoming change.

Instead of a DNT request, Mozilla is asking Firefox users to select the “Tell websites not to sell or share my data” feature. This setting leverages Global Privacy Control (GPC), which is respected by more websites and even enforced in certain jurisdictions.

If you’re more privacy-conscious, using GPC may not be enough for your needs. We recommend a VPN.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/firefox-will-no-longer-support-do-not-track-feature-141543907.html?src=rss

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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League had a rough start. Its launch was delayed, and it lost Warner Bros. $200 million. In more recent news, the developers have announced that Season 4 Episode 8, which comes out in January 2025, will be the last seasonal Episode of the game. Players will finally get to fight Braniac in a final battle.

Not to worry, though. The game isn’t shutting down just yet, as all online features will stay up, meaning you can still play with your friends. If you prefer playing alone, the new offline mode is coming with Episode 8. Offline mode works by starting a new profile or copying your current progress into a new one, letting you pick up where you left off.

You might be wondering if there will be any new content that isn’t a new season in light of this news. This FAQ page seems to avoid a direct answer, only stating what was said above. It neither confirms nor denies “any new content.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/suicide-squad-kill-the-justice-leagues-current-season-is-its-last-161356174.html?src=rss

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Earlier this year, Apple finally offered third-party developers access to its Near-Field Communication (NFC) technology. Not only are iPhone users in the EU receiving access, but other regions can also leverage this technology. Yesterday, Vipps MobilePay became the first Apple Pay alternative on the iPhone using its NFC technology for tap-to-pay transactions.

“Tap with Vipps” is the app’s NFC payment solution. It works for sending money to friends and making online purchases, but that’s not all. You can also pay organizations and associations with it. In other words, it’s PayPal combined with Apple Pay if you want to think of it that way.

The reason Apple is opening up access to its NFC technology is primarily EU pressure. Apple had signed an agreement with the European Commission to open up the iPhone’s NFC technology in July. By doing so, it avoided a legal fine of up to 10 percent of its $40 billion worldwide annual turnover.

With Vipps being the first Apple Pay alternative, Apple’s monopoly on tap-to-pay is finally over. Still, Vipps is a Norwegian firm, and it currently only works there. Customers belonging to more than 40 local banks will be able to use Tap with Vipps to pay, and the company is planning to add more banks to the list. MasterCard and Visa support are also coming before Summer 2025.

Vipps’ success story is likely the first example of a challenge to the Apple Pay monopoly on the iPhone. According to Apple Insider, UK company Curve said in May that it wanted to be the first Apple Wallet alternative. However, Curve hasn’t announced anything yet.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/theres-now-an-apple-pay-alternative-for-iphone-users-in-norway-153634514.html?src=rss

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Emulating the various PlayStation consoles has been commonplace for years, and developers constantly try to do so on various platforms. On Monday, the developers of PS3 emulator RPCS3 released a teaser on YouTube showing how their emulator runs on arm64 hardware, specifically on a Raspberry Pi 5. In an announcement post, they also showcased the emulator running on Apple M1 chips. All told, the emulator can now run on arm64 chips across Windows, Mac and Linux.

If you aren’t familiar with RPCS3, it’s the emulator Atlus tried to take down around Persona 5’s release in 2017. In Atlus’ defense, the developers name-dropped Persona on its Patreon page. Patreon took the RPCS3 developers’ side but asked them to remove all references to Persona titles.

It’s surprising that a PS3 emulator even runs on a Raspberry Pi 5, which isn’t a gaming powerhouse. Through some wizardry, the RPCS3 team was able to push the hardware to its limit. The framerate is locked to a maximum of 30FPS, and the graphics look like they come straight out of a PlayStation Portable screen, which is a 480p display from 20 years ago. The developers weren’t able to render those games at the PS3’s native 720p resolution. Naturally, the more powerful Apple Silicon chips will render games at a higher resolution.

Think of it this way, though. If you traveled back in time to tell people that a PSP could run PS3 games, nobody would’ve believed you. But the proof is now right here, and the teaser showed how the games didn’t experience severe frame drops. While impressive, RPCS3 isn’t the first emulator running natively on arm64 hardware, as that honor goes to Dolphin, the famous Wii and GameCube emulator.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/ps3-emulator-rpcs3-now-runs-on-a-raspberry-pi-5-142224432.html?src=rss

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With Christmas approaching, the Google Pixel Tablet is currently 30 percent off — at least the 128GB version. It’s currently $279, the lowest price it’s ever been since its release.

The Google Pixel Tablet has an 11-inch screen with a resolution of 2560x1600 pixels, making it suitable for streaming content. The tablet is compatible with the Charging Speaker Dock (sold separately). If you need a little more convincing, we named it one of our best Android tablets for 2024.

If 128GB of onboard memory isn’t enough for you, the Google Pixel Tablet also comes in a 256GB version, which is 28 percent off at $359. Every other specification is identical to the standard 128GB model, but having double the memory means you can download more pictures, apps and YouTube videos for offline watching. As with Google’s Pixel smartphones, the Pixel Tablet works with Gemini, the tech giant’s AI chatbot.

For those who use tablets as their primary work device, the Google Pixel Tablet supports Split Screen. This feature lets you open two apps side-by-side and use them simultaneously. It’s great for multitasking.

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

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/google-pixel-tablets-are-up-to-30-percent-off-152043181.html?src=rss

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Raspberry Pi has just released its new computer-in-a-keyboard, the Raspberry Pi 500, the successor to the Raspberry Pi 400. It shares most of the same internal components as the Raspberry Pi 5, but with a keyboard shell and improved heatsink — all for $90.

The Pi 500 is equipped with a 2.4GHz quad-core 64-bit Arm Cortex-A76 CPU and comes with 8GB of RAM. It has three USB A ports (two USB 3.0 ports and one USB 2.0 port) but no USB-C slots besides the charger, which doesn’t support peripherals like mice and docks. Both WiFi and Ethernet are supported natively, along with Bluetooth 5.0. The package also includes a 32GB microSD card preloaded with Raspberry Pi OS, a Linux distribution based on Debian.

Currently, the Pi 500 only has US and UK keyboards, but variants in other languages like Spanish and Japanese are on the way, TechCrunch notes. Depending on the language, the keyboard can have 78 to 83 keys.

The Raspberry Pi 500, by itself or as a desktop kit, is now available through approved resellers. The $120 desktop kit contains the Pi 500 computer, a mouse, a USB-C power supply, an HDMI cable and a beginner’s guide. Monitors aren’t included in the package, though today Raspberry Pi also introduced its new Raspberry Pi Monitor for $100.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/the-raspberry-pi-500-is-a-90-computer-in-a-keyboard-142900379.html?src=rss

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OpenAI will start announcing new features and demos tomorrow for 12 days through livestreams. Sources familiar with the matter told The Verge that these new products will allegedly include OpenAI’s long-awaited text-to-video tool, Sora, and a new reasoning model.

The announcement for "12 Days of OpenAI”, as the company puts it, was made public on X yesterday. The first livestream will broadcast tomorrow, but the announcements themselves remain unconfirmed That said, in addition to the sources that spoke more recently with The Verge, the Wall Street Journal previously reported Sora was likely to come out before the end of 2024.

Sora was revealed early this year, and shared with a small group of testers. But 20 or so of those artists leaked the model to the public in protest of “unpaid labor,” The Washington Post reported. OpenAI has broadly been the subject of criticism regarding the provenance of data supporting its language models, and Sora has been no different. The company has yet to directly address if Sora has scraped public YouTube videos — something that YouTube's CEO has said would be a breach of the platform's terms of service.

OpenAI isn’t the only company working on text-to-video models. Google’s Veo is now available to Google Vertex AI users via private review. It was announced three months after Sora’s February unveiling.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openai-may-launch-sora-its-text-to-video-model-very-soon-171434280.html?src=rss

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Washington, DC’s Attorney General Brian Schwalb is suing Amazon for allegedly excluding certain ZIP codes from enjoying Amazon Prime’s speedy delivery. Schwalb claims that, beginning in 2022, Amazon stopped using its in-house delivery systems for Wards 7 and 8 while still charging those customers the same amount for a Prime subscription. According to Census Reporter, Ward 7 and Ward 8 are 83 percent and 82 percent Black, respectively.

According to the suit, instead of using its own trucks, Amazon relied on UPS and USPS carriers to make deliveries — a decision that resulted in longer delivery times. Only 24 percent of packages to these Wards were delivered within two days. Schwalb also alleged that Amazon didn’t notify any Ward 7 and Ward 8 residents about these changes.

Worryingly, this isn’t the first time Amazon has been called out for excluding majority-Black neighborhoods from the full benefits of a Prime membership. A damning 2016 report in Bloomberg indicated the practice was common across several metro areas. Amazon has since provided Prime Free Same-Day Delivery to Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood, Chicago's South Side and the Bronx in New York City.

Update, December 4 2024, 12:03PM ET: Amazon provided the following statement to Engadget: 

The claims made by the Attorney General, that our business practices are somehow discriminatory or deceptive, are categorically false. We want to be able to deliver as fast as we possibly can to every zip code across the country, however, at the same time we must put the safety of delivery drivers first. In the zip codes in question, there have been specific and targeted acts against drivers delivering Amazon packages. We made the deliberate choice to adjust our operations, including delivery routes and times, for the sole reason of protecting the safety of drivers. And we’re always transparent with customers during the shopping journey and checkout process about when, exactly, they can expect their orders to arrive. What we’d like to do, and have offered, is to work together with the Attorney General and their office in an effort to reduce crime and improve safety in these areas. Nevertheless, we will proceed in the process and demonstrate that providing fast and accurate delivery times and prioritizing the safety of customers and delivery partners are not mutually exclusive.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/amazon-sued-for-alleged-prime-delivery-disparities-in-two-majority-black-dc-neighborhoods-150049496.html?src=rss

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RPG fans who love Hironobu Sakaguchi's work may be familiar with Fantasian, a 2021 Apple Arcade exclusive. Now, Fantasian is coming to Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC on December 5.

As The Verge puts it, Fantasian is Final Fantasy in all but name. The port to these platforms is called Fantasian Neo Dimension and doesn’t differ much from the original apart from added voice acting. The addition of voices will elevate the experience, and you’d be pleased to know that Square Enix is publishing this port, which ensures it gets the best treatment before release.

One unique mechanic Fantasian has is the Dimengeon, a portmanteau of dimension and dungeon. If you activate this device in-game, the random battles will be stored and waiting for you to fight. The Dimengeon has a limit, which means you’ll have to face your foes eventually.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fantasian-an-apple-arcade-rpg-is-now-coming-to-consoles-and-pc-141543706.html?src=rss

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The connected fitness boom of pandemic-era lockdowns is long behind us (hopefully), but Growl, a new startup, is still looking to bolt a workout to the wall of your home. Think of Tonal, except instead of resistance training, it's a boxing-inspired heavy bag session.

The wall-mounted Growl is, according to the company, powered by AI and Unreal Engine and appears to have overhead projectors, which beam the image of a life-sized coach onto the convex punching surface. 3D motion tracking technology claims to gather information about your form and technique and provide insights.

Besides the projection, the bag has an interactive coaching system to help motivate users. It also supposedly supports side-by-side training, which works great for training partners.

Growl isn't available yet, but pre-sales are likely to open in April 2025. Pricing is projected to be between $150 and $190 a month, putting it on the steeper end of fitness devices, if it ever ships. And keep in mind you'll need to install this thing into a wall that can withstand hours of punching.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/this-new-startup-wants-to-be-your-ai-powered-boxing-coach-120022634.html?src=rss

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