The Switch 2 is bigger, more powerful and more expensive than the original Switch, but the tech specs for the new console reveal at least one key way it's worse: The Switch 2's battery life is shorter.
Nintendo says that battery life on the Switch 2 varies depending on the game you play, but that it estimates the console should last approximately "2 – 6.5 hours." That's notably shorter than the battery life you'll get out of a current Switch or Switch OLED, based on the company's support page. Nintendo estimates that a Switch OLED "with a serial number that starts with 'XT'" should last around "4.5 to 9 hours." Non-OLED Switch consoles "with a serial number that starts with 'XK'" are expected to last the same amount of time. Even the original Switch, which has "a serial number that starts with 'XA'," gets a minimum of 2.5 hours of battery life. Apparently, the extra power of the Switch 2 comes with a price.
Nintendo's tech specs confirm a few other notable details. The Switch 2 supports Wi-Fi 6, which should mean you'll get faster internet speeds when the console isn't docked and connected over ethernet. Based on Nintendo's guarantee that the console "supports 120 fps when 1920x1080/2560x1440 resolutions are selected," it seems like the Switch 2 won't support HDMI 2.1.
As far as controllers are concerned, Amiibo support remains, but if you have special place in your heart for the Wii-esque motion controls you could use on the original Switch, it looks like you're out of luck on the Switch 2. Neither the left or right Joy-Con 2 controllers have an IR sensor, one of the ways Nintendo tracked motion on the Wii and Switch. That doesn't mean you can't use motion controls on the Switch 2, just that Nintendo isn't using IR to make them work. (At least in Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, it seems like "mouse control" fills the role motion controls used to on older games.)
Do any of these changes dramatically alter the calculus on whether the Switch 2 is worth buying? Maybe not, but it is interesting to see some of the compromises and decisions Nintendo made to offer what is effectively "the Switch, but better."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-switch-2s-battery-life-is-shorter-than-the-current-switch-211753028.html?src=rss
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
Sonos has given two of its audio products price cuts. The Era 100 smart speaker and Ray soundbar now retail for $199. The change offers new customers a $50 savings for the Era 100 and $80 on the Ray. Both speakers would frequently show up on sale, but Sonos has confirmed that this is a permanent pricing change for the products.
These items have been available for a few years, so the price drop might signal that a refresh is in store for both. When it debuted in 2023, the Era 100 was an upgrade on the Sonos One, bringing overhauled touch controls and even better audio quality to the same cylindrical form factor. At $200, it's now selling for what the Sonos One cost, making it a solid choice for a home speaker. The Ray came out in 2022, offering a solid home theater performance without the most high-end audio or accompanying high-end price tag.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/speakers/sonos-cut-retail-prices-for-its-era-100-speaker-and-ray-soundbar-201049055.html?src=rss
It seems fitting that Nintendo didn’t reveal the Switch 2’s $450 price during its Direct stream this morning — it would have just bummed everyone out. After spending an hour hearing about how the Switch 2 practically fixes almost every problem we had with the original console, and seeing teasers for exciting games like Mario Kart World, why spoil the good vibes with the harsh reality of market economics? Instead, Nintendo revealed the console’s price in the lowliest of media communications: A simple press release.
My first reaction was shock. $450 for a mostly portable console? That’s the same retail price as the PlayStation 5, a system that’s also currently on sale for $400 together with Astro-Bot. Sure, the Switch 2 is vastly superior to the original Switch, but it likely doesn’t have PS5-level hardware. The price jump is also surprising since the original Switch launched at $300 in 2017. Can you imagine we thought the $350 Switch OLED was too high-priced?
Unfortunately, it’s not 2017. NVIDIA now has mid-range GPUs selling for upwards of $600, the cost of almost every product has gone up, and massive companies like Nintendo are bracing for the potential impact of the Trump administration’s long-threatened tariffs.
A $450 Switch 2 is expensive, I’m not denying that. But in the current economic landscape, I would hesitate to call it too expensive.
Nintendo
Consider this: The Switch 2 is just $50 more than the cheapest Steam Deck, a portable PC gaming handheld with significantly slower hardware, a smaller and lower quality (7-inch, 1280 by 800, 60Hz) screen, and a much bulkier frame. The Switch 2, meanwhile, is just as thin as the original model, it has a 7.9-inch 1080p screen that can run up to 120fps with HDR, and it’s powerful enough to play games at up to 4K/60fps while docked. Based on the games we’ve seen so far, the Switch 2 seems surprisingly powerful for its size.
The Switch 2 also improves on its controls with the Joy-Con 2, which now magnetically attach to the consoles, feature larger analog sticks and can also work as mice across a variety of services. You won’t be removing the Steam Deck’s controls without the use of a small saw. And I’ve yet to see a handheld PC maker deliver removable controls that are as comfortable and easy to use as the original Switch (that means you, Lenovo). Nintendo’s original Joy-Con were far from perfect, but they did the job, and I’d wager the company has learned enough to make the Joy-Con 2f even better.
Nintendo
And while you can technically dock other PC gaming handhelds, they won’t see the performance upgrade Nintendo is claiming with the Switch 2. The company says its new console can reach up to 4K/60fps for some titles, thanks to an additional fan in the dock. We don’t know exactly what’s powering the Switch 2 yet, so Nintendo could be drastically overselling its capabilities. But given how seamless docking worked on the first Switch (where it also delivered a bit of a performance upgrade, sans an additional fan), it’s also something I think Nintendo has optimized more than PC companies, who are only just now dipping their toes into portable gaming.
Maybe I’m just trying to justify my own purchases (I just realized I’ll probably need a second Switch 2 for my kid), but I just can’t get too angry about a $450 Switch 2. If we see many more $80 games like Mario Kart World, though, we should absolutely riot in the streets.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/is-the-450-nintendo-switch-2-too-expensive-195750206.html?src=rss
The Nintendo Switch 2 had its big debut on Wednesday, and the new console looks to be a sizable, if mostly straightforward, upgrade over its mega-popular predecessor. Tucked between the new Donkey Kong and (pricier) Mario Kart games, mouse mode and overhauled party chat features, though, was another significant update: The device supports faster microSD Express cards. This may not be the sexiest feature, but it should bring quicker load times and generally improved storage performance to the upcoming handheld. The company briefly showed new 256GB cards from Samsung and SanDisk during its presentation, complete with Mario logos printed on.
However, the news came with a major caveat: The console is only compatible with microSD Express. The cards most people use today — which are based on the older UHS-I bus interface — will only work for loading videos and screenshots from an original Switch, not playing games, according to Nintendo’s support site. Nintendo says this restriction is necessary to preserve the Switch 2’s performance upgrades, and it’s worth noting that the console itself comes with a much more generous 256GB of space by default. But if you ever need to expand the device’s storage, this change will likely make doing so cost extra, while drastically shrinking the options you have to choose from.
Unlike traditional UHS-I cards, a microSD Express card like the SanDisk model on the right comes with a second row of pins on the back.
Jeff Dunn for Engadget
What are microSD Express cards?
SD Express is a relatively recent but seldom-used standard that lets SD cards take advantage of the NVMe protocol and PCIe interface, which is the underlying tech used by SSDs. A microSD Express card has a second row of “pins” on its back and can utilize a single lane’s worth of PCIe bandwidth. As a result, it can produce dramatically faster read and write speeds than its UHS-I counterparts. Whereas the latter advertise sequential transfer rates up to 104 megabytes per second (MB/s), microSD Express cards have a theoretical maximum of 985 MB/s.
That’s far behind the NVMe SSDs used by the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but in theory, it makes Express cards faster than some older SATA-based SSDs when it comes to loading game levels, retrieving saves or copying games to the external storage. It’s worth noting that many UHS-I microSD cards can exceed the 104 MB/s limit with proprietary card readers, but they still fall well short of microSD Express levels even with those. The same goes for speedier UHS-II cards, which are mostly used by professional types with select cameras and PCs and max out at 312 MB/s. (There’s also a UHS-III interface, but nobody uses it. Getting all of this?)
Prior to Wednesday, the only reliably available microSD Express card we could find was this model from SanDisk. We recently tested it for our microSD card buying guide, and the upgrade was pretty dramatic. In the synthetic benchmark CrystalDiskMark, the SanDisk card achieved sequential reads up to 899.12 MB/s and sequential writes up to 650.41 MB/s. For comparison, the absolute fastest UHS-I card we’ve tested (Lexar’s Professional Silver Plus) topped out at 209.25 MB/s for reads and 193.93 MB/s for writes — so, three to four times slower.
In one of our “real-world” tests, the SanDisk Express card took an average of 20 seconds to move a 12GB folder containing various file types and subfolders to a PC and 52 seconds to write the folder back to the card. The Lexar card averaged 67 and 76 seconds, respectively. The gulf in random speeds — which measure how quickly a card can read and write small bits of data scattered throughout a device and tend to be particularly important for gaming — was similarly large, and in some benchmarks even greater.
SanDisk's microSD Express card is one of the (very) few options you can actually buy today.
Jeff Dunn for Engadget
Nintendo has not provided any official transfer speed ratings for the new console just yet, but all of this suggests that the Switch 2’s storage should be much faster than before, even if it’s not on par with the speeds of a PS5 or Xbox Series X. It’s also possible that, like those other consoles, the Switch 2 has hardware dedicated to decompressing files, which could make the real-world improvements over the original Switch’s storage performance even greater. (We’ve reached out to Nintendo and will update this post if we receive any further details.)
The original SD Express standard was released in 2018, but the tech has mostly gone nowhere in the years since. There’s been the SanDisk card noted above, a full-size SD card from ADATA and not much else. Previously, Samsung and Lexar announced microSD Express cards that wound up missing their original release windows — though Samsung’s card may just be the same one unveiled today, and Lexar did release a new “Play Pro” microSD Express card on Wednesday.
Host devices that support the standard, which are required to even see any improved speeds, have been highly uncommon over the same time frame. (If you put a microSD Express card in a device that doesn’t support the underlying tech, such as the original Switch, it’ll be limited to standard UHS-I speeds.) And while compatible card readers can deliver the faster transfer rates on certain PCs, they aren’t cheap, so at that point most people have been better off buying a faster external SSD.
The SD Association pointed us to a LinkedIn page (!) with other compatible devices when reached for comment, but the pickings are still slim, and very few of those support microSD Express cards specifically. The Switch 2 is by far the highest-profile device to embrace the standard, so it could be the thing that finally takes these cards from “cool idea” to “useful niche.”
The Samsung and SanDisk microSD Express cards Nintendo quickly teased during its Switch 2 unveiling on Wednesday.
Nintendo
Questions of price and heat
That said, there are multiple reasons why SD Express has failed to take off before this week, and it remains to be seen whether the Switch 2 will truly fix them. First and foremost is price. We’ve reached out to SanDisk and Samsung for confirmation, but for now we don’t know how much the microSD Express cards that Nintendo has teased will cost. If the couple other Express models available today are any indication, though, they’re likely to be much more expensive than the conventional cards you may have bought for the previous Switch.
SanDisk’s Express card, for instance, costs $45 for a 128GB model and $60 for the 256GB version. The 256GB Lexar Play Pro is $10 cheaper, but its 512GB and 1TB versions cost a whopping $100 and $200, respectively. For reference, Samsung’s Pro Plus — another UHS-I card we recommend in our buying guide — costs $17 for 128GB, $23 for 256GB, $38 for 512GB and $80 for 1TB as of this writing. That’s a huge difference.
What’s more, the Play Pro is the only purchasable microSD Express card we’ve seen thus far that even supports capacities greater than 256GB. Nintendo says the console can support up to 2TB of external storage, but no Express card with that capacity appears to exist yet. The Switch 2 will be one of the first mainstream devices to truly push SD Express in earnest, so we’d expect it’ll drive prices down and increase competition over time. But how quickly, and by how much, remains up in the air.
Nintendo
The other concern relates to thermal management. MicroSD Express cards can pump out significantly faster transfer speeds, but they’re still working with tiny little frames that don’t leave much room to dissipate heat. When we tested SanDisk’s microSD Express model for our guide, we noticed that it slowed down under longer, more sustained loads — not enough to fall behind than UHS-I cards, but still below its peak by a few hundred MB/s.
The SD Express spec does have mechanisms for keeping heat in check, and manufacturers like SanDisk advertise similar protections. Nintendo presumably has come up with ways to further avoid severe throttling with the Switch 2. (We already know that the new dock comes with a cooling fan built in, for instance.) But it’ll be something to keep an eye on once we can move large game files around the device.
In a developer Q&A posted to Nintendo’s website on Wednesday, Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto notes that the move to microSD Express will help the console’s performance hold up better in the long-term. With the new Mario Kart World, for instance, he says the faster transfer speeds will help make far-off destinations in the game’s open world visible faster. He also notes that Switch 2 games will have larger file sizes, but that he “doubt[s] most people will need a microSD Express card immediately after buying the system” thanks to the Switch 2’s larger built-in capacity.
Hopefully that’s the case. It’d be unfair to call this a PlayStation Vita situation, as that portable console relied solely on proprietary memory cards, and the Switch 2 will support options from several third-party manufacturers. But as it stands now, storage upgrades for the new console look like they’ll be much pricier and more limited to start. And just how much of an advantage the new tech provides is something we won’t know until the console arrives in June.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-nintendo-switch-2-promises-major-storage-upgrades-but-itll-cost-you-193758964.html?src=rss
Hear me out. I too rolled my eyes when A Minecraft Movie was announced. We're all tired of seeing Jack Black in video game movies — he was fine in Super Mario Bros., but good god Borderlands was a disaster. And the Minecraft film's trailers did it no favors, another soulless movie produced on a virtual set about a game that's completely open-ended and plotless. But it turns out A Minecraft Movie is actually good.
Honestly, I'm as surprised as you are.
A Minecraft Movie isn't exactly groundbreaking, to be clear. It certainly never reaches the heights of The Lego Movie. But it's surprisingly funny for a children's movie, and it delivers a decent message about championing creativity in a world that wants to beat down free-thinking non-conformists. And if you were around for the inexplicable Napoleon Dynamite craze of the mid-2000's, you'll notice plenty of that film's quirky sensibility from director Jared Hess.
From the beginning, A Minecraft Movie seems well aware of the ridiculousness of its own existence. The story starts off with Jack Black's Steve (dressed just like the game's default skin) retelling his obsession with "the mines," and his inability to go digging while he was a kid. He later grows up, gets a boring office job and remembers his erstwhile calling to make holes in the earth. Once he makes his way into a cave, he stumbles into a portal that brings him to the blocky "Overworld" of the Minecraft universe. It's classic isekai stuff — the genre of anime where the main character is transported to another (often digital) world.
And yes, I know all of this sounds incredibly contrived as I write this, but Black's zaniness really sells the absurdity of the film. It's as if he's saying out loud, "Yes, I know the idea of a Minecraft movie is beyond dumb, but at least you get to spend time with me in classic Jack Black mode!" Now if you're tired of his schtick, that may be a major knock against the film. But for me, it was a nice reminder of his Tenacious D days.
Warner Bros.
The film eventually focuses on two siblings, Henry (Sebastian Hansen) and Natalie (Emma Myers), who are moving to a small Midwestern town after the death of their mother. Natalie is gearing up for a social media producer role at a local business, while Henry is forced to adapt to a new school. Coincidentally, a former gaming superstar lives in their town, Jason Mamoa's Garret "The Garbageman" Garrison, who befriends Henry as another outcast. Danielle Brooks' Dawn, a struggling local realtor/mobile zookeeper, ends up taking Natalie under her wing after seeing how much she's sacrificing for her brother.
Inevitably, thanks to a glowing MacGuffin, those four characters also stumble into the same portal that sent Steve to the Overworld. They quickly run into Steve, break their glowing MacGuffin and then head off to find a way to fix it and return home. If any of this sounds boring, don't worry, it's not really important. What works best in A Minecraft Movie is the humor and personality Hess stuffs in between the trappings of a big budget Hollywood game adaptation.
Warner Bros.
The majority of the film hinges on Jack Black's persona, but I also enjoyed seeing Jason Mamoa play an egotistical manchild who's in love with video games. He's decked out in an absurd wig and hot pink jacket, and Mamoa hams it up just as well as he did Fast X. He's a jerk at times, but he's also kind to Henry and clearly doesn't care what anyone thinks of his personal style. The rest of the cast mostly plays it straight against the force of Black and Mamoa's personalities, but they each get a few moments to shine.
Whenever the core story starts to fall flat, A Minecraft Movie veers into more interesting territory, like a hapless Minecraft villager who stumbles into the real world. For those who don't play the game, villagers are simple NPC who can't speak, and often find themselves in danger. I got a kick out of seeing him navigate traffic and have a meet-cute with Jennifer Coolidge's Vice Principal Marlene, a relationship that gets weirder than you'd think. (Again, it's like something straight out of Napoleon Dynamite.)
Warner Bros.
I’m no Minecraft devotee, but I wish the film’s interpretation of the game’s blocky graphics were a bit more pixelated. While the characters and animals we see resemble their game counterparts, their over-designed look clashes with the beautiful simplicity of Minecraft’s aesthetics. I’m sure it’s tough to unite the low-poly look with live action, while also delivering polished CG that audiences expect, but the path A Minecraft Movie took just feels over-cooked. That being said, the film’s game world seems more alive than the empty virtual sets in Quantumania. There are tons of characters milling about, and the environments all feel distinctly Minecraft.
The kids in my press screening didn’t seem to mind the shift in visual language. They loved seeing the game’s creatures in any form — a family of pandas got a theater-wide “awww.” And they also loved seeing in-game Minecraft tricks represented on the big screen, like using a water block to cushion a fall.
My daughter Sophia’s verdict? “I liked it, but I don’t think I’d want to see it again,” she said. But I know she’s lying. We’ll likely end up seeing this thing hundreds of times at home, and even more so once her brother jumps aboard the Minecraft bandwagon. I won’t mind, though. As far as kid’s movies go, it’s a world I wouldn’t mind revisiting.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a-minecraft-movie-review-its-good-actually-190035499.html?src=rss
Following its big Switch 2 presentation, Nintendo revealed in an interview with the team behind the console that one of the (arguably better) names the company was considering before it landed on Switch 2 was "Super Nintendo Switch."
"There were a lot of ideas for the name, and we really struggled to find the right one," Kouichi Kawamato, the producer on the Switch 2, says. "We even considered ideas like 'Super Nintendo Switch.'" The issue with the name was that even though drawing a parallel to the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) was fun, it was also potentially confusing. The SNES was the successor to the NES, but it couldn't play NES games. "Since Switch 2 can play Switch games, it didn't feel right to use the same naming convention as Super NES."
Adding a number to the end of the original console's name (the general strategy Nintendo's competitor Sony has taken with the PlayStation) just made things a lot simpler and easier to understand. Nintendo's caution isn't totally unfounded. The Wii U was more powerful than the Wii and featured a unique controller in the Wii U GamePad. Because it's name was so similar to Nintendo's older console, it was backwards compatible with the Wii and it supported pre-existing accessories like Wii Remotes, though, it was viewed as an add-on rather than a new device worth upgrading to.
There were other problems that helped do the Wii U in, like a steep decline in support from third-party game developers and a failure on Nintendo's part to explain what made the console distinct, but the name certainly didn't help. The Switch 2 is much better set up for success than the Wii U, but "sticking to what works" seems like the defining idea of the new console, so the name is following suit.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-switch-2-was-almost-called-the-super-nintendo-switch-184243089.html?src=rss
The entry-level laptop from modular computing company Framework, which we first saw in February, is almost ready to roll. Founder and CEO Nirav Patel said on Wednesday that you can reserve the Framework Laptop 12 on April 9 at 11AM ET.
The Framework Laptop 12 is a colorful 12.2-inch notebook with a 360-degree hinge that lets you fold it back into a (chunky) tablet. This zillionth iteration of that form factor stands out because of Framework's ethos of modular repairability. If you decide it's time for an upgrade in a couple of years, there's no need to fork out $1,500 for a new device; you can simply upgrade its modular parts.
The Framework Laptop 12 has a 12.2-inch, 1,920 x 1,200 touchscreen display that, at 400 nits, gets "much brighter than you typically see from an entry-level or lower-cost laptop." It will be available with a 13th-gen i3 or i5 Core processor and up to 48GB of DDR5 RAM. You can also get up to a 2TB 2 TB M.2 2230 SSD, Wi-Fi 6E and the company's standard choice of Windows 11 or Linux.
Framework
Although it's helpful to have those general spec guidelines, Framework says it won't share the modular machine's full spec breakdown, ship date or pricing until it's available for pre-order. So, you won't know how "entry-level" it is until the clock is ticking to reserve one. Although seeing Big Tech marketers weaponizing FOMO to increase sales numbers isn't exactly a rarity these days, it stands out all the more coming from a startup that, in other ways, is among the most consumer-friendly.
Patel even cautioned in today's announcement, "We have a hunch that the early batches are going to go very quickly." In other words, you'd better not take too long scanning that spec sheet and weighing it against pricing before the train pulls out of the station.
Regardless, you can learn more about the Framework Laptop 12 in the video below before checking out its full specs on April 9 at 11AM ET. Patel advises pre-order customers to create an account on the company website in advance.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/you-can-pre-order-frameworks-entry-level-2-in-1-touchscreen-laptop-on-april-9-182310021.html?src=rss
Amazon has reportedly joined the growing list of suitors angling to acquire TikTok as a new ban deadline approaches. According to The New York Times, the retailer has made a “last-minute bid” to buy the app, and has approached Vice President JD Vance and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick about the offer.
It’s not clear why Amazon is making an offer this late in the process. TikTok is currently facing an April 5 deadline to strike a deal, though President Donald Trump has said he would likely extend it if necessary. The Times reports that White House officials don’t seem to be “seriously” considering the longshot bid. Amazon declined to comment.
Amazon joins several other companies and investors that have proposed bids. The group includes YouTuber MrBeast (with backing from a group that includes Roblox CEO David Baszucki), Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian (who joined a group of investors known as “Project Liberty”) and Perplexity AI, which has proposed integrating the shortform video into its search engine.
Even with the deadline just days away, we still don't know exactly when a decision will be made about TikTok’s future. Trump has said he wants to announce a deal before the Saturday deadline.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/amazon-reportedly-wants-to-buy-tiktok-now-too-173957102.html?src=rss
20 March 2025, Bavaria, Munich: The logo and lettering of global online mail order company Amazon can be seen under the blue sky on the façade of Amazon Germany's headquarters in Parkstadt Schwabing in Munich (Bavaria) on March 20, 2025. Amazon.com, Inc. is a listed US-American, globally active online mail order company. In Germany, the Group is one of the US companies with the highest turnover. Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa (Photo by Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Nintendo just dropped a boatload of Switch 2 news, including the release date, price and a launch title or two. It also announced a bevy of accessories that’ll be available for the console on June 5. Let’s go over the most notable of these doodads.
For my money, the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera is the highlight here. This was featured heavily in the company’s livestream, as the Switch 2 will allow for in-game video chat. This is thanks to the magical “C” button on the right Joy-Con controller. The camera will also shrink down your head to use as a live avatar in certain games. It costs $50.
It wouldn’t be a Nintendo console without a pro controller. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller will cost $80, but it includes the aforementioned “C” button, a screen capture button, an audio jack and HD rumble 2. It also allows for motion controls and Amiibo functionality. The GL/GR buttons can be mapped to suit different playstyles.
The company also announced a dedicated GameCube controller for use with Nintendo Online. It comes in iconic purple and also includes a “C” button. It charges via USB-C so you won’t burn through AA batteries like Wall-E or something. We don’t have a price on this yet, but Nintendo did say it’s launching with the console. We do know, however, that it’s only available to Nintendo Online subscribers.
The Switch 2 is launching with a new Mario Kart game, so you know what that means. The Joy-Con wheel controllers are back. The Joy-Con 2 Wheel ships in a two-pack, which costs $20. The set includes one blue wheel and one red wheel.
There are two official carrying cases. There’s one just for the console, for handheld mode, that costs $35. There’s also a much larger one that holds everything, including the console, dock, cables and game cards. That one costs $80.
Those are the most interesting items, but Nintendo also announced the usual replacement components. An AC adapter costs $30, while a dock set costs $110. A pair of Joy-Cons will set you back $90 and replacement straps cost $13.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-official-switch-2-accessories-include-a-camera-a-gamecube-controller-and-more-173912613.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
It's almost time to pre-order the Nintendo Switch 2, now that we finally know how much it'll cost, when it comes out, some of the games it's getting, and the fact that you can use the new Joy-Con as a mouse, even on top of your pants. The Nintendo Switch 2 costs $450, it comes out on June 5, and pre-orders are set to go live on Wednesday, April 9. If you're pre-ordering from a third-party retailer, your best bet is to make an extra cup of coffee that morning and get your clicking fingers ready — an exact time for pre-orders to activate hasn't been announced yet, but it'll likely be around 9AM ET, as these things often are.
If you're ordering directly from Nintendo, things will work a little differently.
Nintendo's US and Canada purchasing site asks interested customers to register to receive an emailed invitation to order the Switch 2. These invites will start going out on May 8, giving each recipient 72 hours to complete their purchase. The fine print clarifies that invites will be sent first to people who meet the following criteria as of April 2, 2025:
They've purchased any Nintendo Switch Online membership
They've had any paid NSO membership for a minimum of 12 months
They've opted in to share gameplay data and have logged at least 50 hours of total play time
Registrants who fit these criteria will be included in the priority group and receive email invites in the initial batches. All other hopeful customers will get in line on a first-come, first-served basis behind them. The UK pre-order guidelines are similar.
On the negative side, this means folks who have opted out of Nintendo's data-sharing program or never used NSO will be lumped in with the non-priority group, even if they've played their Switch every day for the past eight years. This also makes it harder for non-playing people to pre-order a Switch 2 from Nintendo as a surprise for a friend or family member. That's a bummer.
On the positive side, this seems to be Nintendo's attempt to thwart scalpers, and it should be an effective roadblock. It'll simply be harder for profit hunters to receive the initial batch of Switch 2 consoles directly from Nintendo, which should curtail the influx of price-jacked resales — at least a little bit, and at least for a little while.
On the most positive side, this is a nice, unexpected benefit for people with a track record of actually playing the Switch. Sure, the benefit is simply enabling them to more easily spend their money on Nintendo products, but as far as capitalistic ploys go, this one's pretty kind.
That said, retailers including Gamestop, Walmart and Best Buy won't have these restrictions on pre-orders, so things should operate as usual there. This means you won't have to prove you're a Real Gamer in order to pre-order a Switch 2 from a third-party store, but neither will the scalpers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-is-prioritizing-switch-online-subscribers-in-its-switch-2-pre-orders-171645498.html?src=rss
Last spring, Ooni debuted the dual-zone Koda 2 Max outdoor oven that can cook lots of things, including pizzas up to 20 inches. Now the company is expanding the gas-powered Koda line with the new Koda 2 and Koda 2 Pro. Like the Max, these two models feature Ooni's latest burners, improved heat efficiency, a more resilient stone and compatibility with the Ooni Connect Digital Temperature Hub.
The Koda 2 Pro will be the midrange option in Ooni's revamped gas-burning lineup. The oven can accommodate pizzas up to 18 inches thanks to 30 percent larger capacity than the Koda 16. The Koda 2 Pro offers a temperature range of 320-950 degrees Fahrenheit, which gives you the ability to sear, roast and bake in addition to the intense heat needed for pizzas. Twin gas burners are equipped with Ooni's G2 tech for improved heat distribution thanks to a powerful tapered flame.
While you're cooking, the Koda 2 Pro has a glass visor that helps keep heat inside while also giving you a clear view of your progress. The Ooni Connect Digital Temperature Hub puts a clearly visible display on the front of the oven, and its food probes can keep tabs on things like meat and fish. What's more, this device has Bluetooth connectivity, which can send temperature updates to your phone. Session logs are stored in the Ooni app, where you'll find recipes, tips and other useful info.
Ooni's Koda 2
Ooni
The Koda 2 is the smallest option in Ooni's overhauled gas-only line. It's only 33 pounds, which the company says makes it portable enough for camping, tailgates and cookouts. And since the Koda 2 can also hit 950 degrees Fahrenheit, you can cook pro-level pizza in about a minute. This model is also equipped with the newest G2 burners for maximum efficiency and the 14-inch cooking area is larger than that of the previous comparable model, the Koda 12. What's more, the Koda 2 is compatible with the Ooni Connect smart hub, but it doesn't come in the box like the Koda 2 Pro and Koda 2 Max. The extra purchase will cost you $99.
The Koda 2 is available now for $449 while the Koda 2 Pro will be available May 1 for $749. Those prices are $150 more than the existing Koda 12 and Koda 16 models. And for the first time, Ooni ovens will be available in something other than the company's trademark Foundry Black. You'll also be able to choose a Slate Blue option with these new models.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/kitchen-tech/ooni-debuts-koda-2-and-koda-2-pro-pizza-ovens-with-new-burners-and-bluetooth-smarts-170056892.html?src=rss
There’s a trailer for the upcoming third season of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and it’s absolutely filled with goodies. It looks like there will be an episode soaked in the 1960s retro vibes of the original show, complete with period-accurate costumes and sets.
This is an episodic show, meaning that each episode is (more or less) standalone. The trailer shows off a few of the sci-fi concepts that will populate this third season. There’s a clip of the crew trying to connect dial-up phones to the ship (?!) and one that involves a murder mystery.
There are also two puzzling TNG-era additions. The famous Holodeck will be incorporated this season, or something that looks a whole lot like it. For the uninitiated, this is like VR but way, way better. Also, the trailer strongly indicates that Rhys Darby (Our Flag Means Death) will be playing a version of the prankster alien Q. It's the finger snap that gives it away. We knew he was going to be in the show, but didn’t know who he’d be playing.
Now for some bad news. There’s no release date, other than summer. That could mean June. It could mean August. We’ll keep you updated when Paramount+ drops some new info.
Star Trek: Strange New Worldsis a prequel series that follows Christopher Pike, the captain of the Enterprise prior to Kirk. However, the show has begun working in elements of the original iteration. Spock and Uhura have always been in it, but now Kirk, Bones and Scotty are starting to show up.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-star-trek-strange-new-worlds-season-3-trailer-has-some-serious-retro-vibes-164425733.html?src=rss
England's top-tier soccer league will soon use optical tracking to automate portions of offside calls. The Premier League said on Tuesday it will adopt semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) in live matches beginning on April 12. The league said the new tech won't change the accuracy of offside calls, but it will make them 30 seconds faster on average.
SAOT uses sensors from up to 30 cameras mounted high above the field in each Premier League stadium. They track the ball's precise location and up to 10,000 surface data points for each player. The sports tech company Genius Sports explains that the tech "provides more efficient placement of the virtual offside line, using optical player tracking, and generates virtual graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for fans."
Premier League
For the uninitiated, offsides is called in soccer when the attacking team's lead player is closer to the opponent's goal line than both the ball and the second-last defender. (The last defender is usually the goalie.) In recent years, the Premier League defaulted to the offsite Video Assistant Referee (VAR) team, which would determine the kick-point (the moment the lead attacker's teammate passes it) and add calibrated lines with a crosshair for the attacker and defender's locations at that time.
SAOT cuts a big chunk out of this (often lengthy) process by suggesting the kick-point and automatically creating offside lines based on the relevant defender and attacker's positions. The VAR team still has a chance to review the algorithm's suggestion before approving it.
At that point, a "decision visual" like the one below will roll for the fans in the stadium and those watching the broadcast at home to help clarify the call. The animation shows a white vertical wall representing the offside line, with a red (offside) or green (onside) line indicating whether the player crossed it.
This SAOT decision visual shows the attacker's right arm crossing the offside line.
Premier League
VAR will still be available as a backup for offside calls. "Most offside decisions will be quicker, but VAR will still have the option to draw crosshairs as a backup to the SAOT system if required," the Premier League explained. "This process may be necessary in 'edge cases' where several players block the view of the ball or other players for the system's cameras."
This isn't the first use of the tech. The Premier League has tested it in non-live matches and in live FA Cup games. The BBC notes that SAOT was also used in the 2022 World Cup, Serie A, La Liga and the Champions League. The Premier League's version is a custom offshoot that Genius Sports developed with PGMOL (the referees' organization) and the league itself. Unlike previous adaptations, the Premier League's version doesn't put a chip inside the ball.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/the-premier-league-will-speed-up-offside-calls-with-optical-tracking-tech-starting-next-week-163327195.html?src=rss
Samsung and LG got a headstart on Sony when they announced their new 2025 TVs a few months ago at CES. But now, the latter is catching up with the pending arrival of three new Bravia sets, including a refreshed flagship QD-OLED, a midrange mini LED option and an updated budget alternative.
Before we get into the specific models, it's important to note that after revamping the naming scheme for all of its home theater gear last year, Sony isn't doing a full top-to-bottom overhaul of its entire lineup for 2025. Instead, it's introducing a handful of new TVs that will replace old models or slot into some existing gaps in its current portfolio. That means the Bravia 9 will continue to be the company's top-tier TV, with everything else falling in line under that.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
This brings us to the Bravia 8 II, which as you may have guessed, is the replacement to the Bravia 8 and will be Sony's most premium QD-OLED TV. Like the Bravia 9, it features the company's XR processor which supports AI scene recognition tech to help preserve details in tricky scenes. The way it works is that by analyzing your content, the TV can compare what's being displayed with a reference library of known backgrounds and patterns to help fill in any gaps the source material may not have fully captured.
I had a chance to see this AI trick in person and while the effect is subtle, it definitely makes a difference during shots with lots of foliage, rocks or other challenging textures. I also noticed that the Bravia 8 II demonstrated improved tone mapping and much more accurate color gradients, which resulted in more detailed and realistic images, especially in very bright or dark shots. And of course, you get those lovely deep blacks and the excellent contrast that modern QD-OLED panels are known for.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Moving down the line, there's the Bravia 5, which neatly fills the void between Sony's existing 7 and 3 series TVs. It features a mini LED panel powered by the company's Backlight Master Drive tech, which delivers reduced digital noise and improved contrast. The most noticeable example I saw of this was the almost complete lack of halos or light bleed when viewing bright objects on a dark background. Another important spec is that the Bravia 5 is available in sizes of up to 98 inches, which makes it one of Sony's largest TVs (including the 83-inch flagship Bravia 9).
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Finally we come to the Bravia 2 II, where the biggest change is the shift to full direct lit LED instead of an edge lit panel like the previous model. This delivers much more vibrant colors in addition to significantly wider viewing angles on sizes ranging from 43 to 75 inches. Like Sony's other TVs, its OS is powered by Google TV and it includes an upscaler to bring old content up to 4K. The one major limitation on the Bravia 2 II is that it features a refresh rate of just 60Hz.
Unfortunately, official pricing and availability for all of Sony's new TV's won't be available until sometime later this spring. So if you're currently shopping for a new set, you may want to hold off for another couple of months.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sonys-2025-bravia-tv-lineup-includes-a-new-flagship-qd-oled-model-160019669.html?src=rss
Last spring, Sony debuted its Bravia Theater line of soundbars and speakers, ditching its confusing product names in the process. The initial group consisted of the flagship Bar 9, Bar 8, Bravia Quad speaker set and a Theater U neck speaker. Now the company is looking to offer a more compact midrange option that's still capable of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio. With the new Bravia Theater Bar 6, Sony gives users a 3.1.2-channel option, and this time, it comes with a wireless subwoofer in the box.
The Bar 6 will be the entry-level option in Sony's Bravia Theater soundbar lineup when compared to the more robust Bar 8 and Bar 9. The company says the goal here is to provide both immersive sound and clear dialogue. The soundbar's two up-firing drivers are paired with three more across the front for Dolby Atmos and DTS/X dimensional audio. Sony provides up-mixing tech to transform stereo content to 3D sound when those immersive formats aren't available. For dialogue, Sony utilizes both a dedicated center speaker and so-called Voice Zoom 3. That latter item is an AI-powered tool that recognizes human voices and adjusts their volume as needed to keep speech clear.
Sony is offering two packages for the Bar 6. First, you can opt for all-in-one setup that comes with rear satellite speakers and a subwoofer for a 5.1.2 surround sound setup. The company calls this the Bravia Theater System 6. If you don't need the rears, you can get the Bar 6 and a sub. Just note that the two subwoofers in those two configurations are different, and the back speakers with the System 6 don't have up-firing drivers.
Sony's Bravia Theater System 6
Sony
One item that's notable about the System 6 is Sony's new Multi Stereo Mode. With living room setups that have rear speakers, those satellites sometimes provide awkward audio performance for music. This feature on Sony's new all-inclusive package replicates stereo left/right channels to the center and rear speakers for a more enjoyable audio experience.
Lastly, Sony has a new set of rear speakers, dubbed the Bravia Theater Rear 8. These are compatible with the company's soundbars and work with its 360 Spatial Sound Mapping tech to calibrate your system to your living room's acoustics. The Rear 8 are different from the speakers that come with the System 6, so you'll want to consider that when making your buying decision.
When paired with a Bravia TV, Sony's soundbars can be controlled with the Bravia Connect app on a phone. Here, you can adjust volume and other settings without a remote or on-screen menu. Both the Bravia TV and Bravia Theater lineups can be controlled via on-screen prompts without having to change remotes. More specifically, a Bravia TV controller can be used to adjust volume, sound field and more on the Bravia Theater soundbars and speakers.
There's no word on pricing or availability yet for the Bravia Theater Bar 6, Bravia Theater System 6 or the Bravia Theater Rear 8. All Sony has divulged thus far is that the trio of new products is set to arrive sometime this spring.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/home-theater/sony-adds-the-bravia-theater-bar-6-to-its-dolby-atmos-soundbar-lineup-160012544.html?src=rss
The Switch 2 Nintendo Direct has officially come and gone, leaving in its wake some big news about the system and its upcoming games. One of arguably the cutest announcements came courtesy of Kirby Air Riders, a new game from Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai. So, while there's sadly no new Smash game on the horizon, you can glide around with Kirby and friends.
Kirby Air Riders comes over two decades after Sakurai designed Kirby Air Ride for the GameCube. Yes, you can now take a moment if reading this has made you feel old. After nearly a minute of build-up, the trailer shows Kirby riding along on the Warp Star machine, through a pleasant looking valley. It ends with the "rs" being dramatically attached to the original Kirby Air Ride title.
We don't have an exact release date for Kirby Air Riders yet, but Nintendo says it will be sometime this year. As for the Switch 2, you can pick one up for $450 on June 5, along with new games like Mario Kart World.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/super-smash-bros-directors-kirby-air-riders-will-come-to-the-switch-2-150234970.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 just held a livestream to drop more details on the forthcoming Switch 2 console. At the very end, it revealed a brand-new 3D platformer starring Donkey Kong. This is the first game of its type since Donkey Kong 64 hit the Nintendo 64 all the way back in 1999. It’s called Donkey Kong Bananza and launches exclusively for the Switch 2 on July 17, which is just over a month after the console hits store shelves.
It looks cool! Much of the environment is destructible, so DK can get in there and break stuff. It also features sidescrolling segments, sort of like how modern Mario 3D platformers dip into their 2D roots every once in a while.
The whole thing has a funky and cartoonish vibe one would expect from our favorite gorilla. However, I didn’t hear one lick of the famous Donkey Kong rap during the trailer but the equally iconic "ooh banana" sound effect from DK64 does make a brief cameo.
The trailer does show DK climbing up the sides of mountains (getting his BOTW-era Link on) and rollicking through several locations. These include a forest and an ice region, among others. The footage also shows the meanest looking Kong I’ve ever seen.
Nintendo
We don’t know too much about this game beyond what the trailer shows, but we don’t have that long to wait. Once again, Donkey Kong Bananza comes out on July 17.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/donkey-kong-bananza-is-a-brand-new-3d-platformer-for-switch-2-143108835.html?src=rss
