NASA's Curiosity rover has been able to register something which, while unremarkable on Earth, is an interesting phenomenon for Mars — cloudy skies. The agency has shared images of "shining" clouds, able to form on a planet that has a relatively thin atmosphere. Nothing has been confirmed just yet, but they could be naturally formed dry-ice clouds, made of carbon dioxide.
It might not match the appeal of ancient megafloods or possible signs of life, but Curiosity continues to offer up new Mars insights, both above and below the surface of the red planet.
A little closer to home, Japan's Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has teamed up with Sony, Doshisha University and toy-maker Tomy on a ball-shaped transforming robot destined for the Moon. It will study lunar soil ahead of a crewed rover set to launch in 2029.Continue reading.
The company originally wanted to release the feature in May.
Apple's podcast subscription service won't be coming out this month, as previously scheduled. In an email to podcasters obtained by 9to5Mac, the company has announced it's pushing back both the subscriptions and channels release date to June to ensure it's "delivering the best experience for creators and listeners." The "channels" feature will recommend groups of shows curated by creators, with extra descriptive text and artwork. Continue reading.
Tesla's long-running battle with pro-dealership laws is about to get even weirder. Texas legislature is winding down its session on May 31st, without advancing a bill that lets Tesla sell directly to customers. This means the EV maker will likely have to ship cars from its upcoming Texas, Austin-area Gigafactory out of state before it can sell them to Texans.Continue reading.
Announced last night at Intel's Computex keynote, its newest Core i7 chip will reach 5GHz on a single core, thanks to the company's new Turbo Boost Max 3.0. Beyond hitting 5GHz, the new processors don't pack in many surprises. The series still sports four cores and eight threads, and it features 96 Intel Xe graphics cores like its predecessor. Basically, it should offer a small upgrade to new PCs coming this fall.
Intel also announced its first 5G M.2 module, which was developed with MediaTek after Intel sold its 5G assets to Apple. Continue reading.
At long last, Apple has addressed the remote for its set-top box. I can only assume we'll eventually see a documentary investigation and several conspiracy theories about why the old, easily-lost Apple TV remote stuck around for so long, but that's a question for another day.
Now the new Apple TV 4K is here and you should read Devindra Hardawar's review. Not so much for the box itself, as upgrades for the processor, smart home integration and HDMI 2.1 are more about future proofing than current capability, but to dig into the qualities of the Siri Remote. The only thing it's apparently missing is some way to find it when it's missing, plus you can use it with older Apple TVs.
Plus all of this week's deals that you can still get today.
The unofficial summer kickoff is here and, even though Memorial Day weekend has barely started, we're already starting to see gadgets discounted across the web. Some of Apple's latest devices are on sale, including the MacBook Air M1 ($900) and the 10.2-inch iPad $299 at Walmart and Amazon), and Amazon's sale on Fire TV devices is still ongoing. GameStop's Memorial Day discounts include Nintendo Switch games and accessories, while gadgets like robot vacuums, smartwatches and Bluetooth speakers are on sale across the web.
It's hard to say how long these deals will last, but typically Memorial Day sales last through the Monday holiday, so you have a couple more days to decide where you want your money going.
Here are the best Memorial Day tech sales we could find, and remember to follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter for more updates. Continue reading.
This week, Devindra chats with Senior Mobile Editor Chris Velazco about Amazon's surprising new acquisition of MGM. Yes, that's right, the fabled studio behind the Bond franchise, among others. Is this just a play for more Prime Video content? Or is Amazon just trying to crush Netflix and Apple? Also, they discuss a potential Switch-like portable gaming PC from Valve, as well as some news from Build 2021.
The fitness tracker isn't dead, and if you're reading this, you're probably one of the people keeping these little devices alive. Smartwatches have all but taken over the mainstream wearable space, but the humble fitness tracker remains an option for those who want a gadget to do one thing right all the time. Despite the headwinds, there are still a bunch of fitness bands out there to choose from. Engadget has tested many of them and picked out the best for most people. Continue reading.
Before the latest Flight Simulator game launches on the Xbox, its developer is adding many optimizations. The latest update on PC is a good example of that, as it trims the initial download from 170GB to 83GB. If you're trying to save space on your SSD or under your bandwidth cap, then it's very good news. Continue reading.
A mere eight days after announcing the restart to its long-paused Bluecheck verification process, Twitter announced on Friday that sorry, it's been swamped with requests and will temporarily ignore new applications from users until the backlog has been addressed. The last pause lasted four years. Continue reading.
If you haven't already signed up, you simply input your email address or phone number, and if it's spotted in information dumped by hackers that could be used against you, then you get an alert. Combined with a password manager to enable unique passwords everywhere, as well as things like using two-factor authentication, it can help make your online experience more secure. The other way it's getting an upgrade is a new arrangement with the FBI so that when they find compromised passwords as part of their investigations, the data goes into HIBP and account owners are alerted.
Looking for more new-gen games to show off what your console can do? Guerilla Games is hard at work on a sequel to its 2017 PS4 hit Horizon Zero Dawn, and on Thursday it gave gamers a hint of what to expect from Horizon Forbidden West. For 14 minutes, you can watch hero Aloy travel through post-apocalyptic West Coast landscapes, as she attempts to uncover the source of a red-tinged plague spreading across the land.
The fresh gameplay shows off deep-sea mechanics and new enemies, such as the Tremor Tusk — a massive, mechanical mammoth. Aloy even rides around on a velociraptor-type robot for a while. Guerilla isn't ready to reveal a release date yet, but at least you can see the game's world in 4K right now. Continue reading.
A camera improperly processing a single glitchy frame doesn't sound like a big problem, but if you're a drone flying on another planet 207 million miles from home, it's a serious issue. Fortunately, NASA's Ingenuity helicopter managed to complete its sixth flight despite the anomaly. The error removed timestamps from the Mars copter's navigation images, throwing off its algorithms and causing it to try to "correct its flight path" constantly. In the final moments of flight, the copter ignored the camera feed, steadied itself and touched down as planned. Continue reading.
A $2.99/month in-app purchase for "Twitter Blue" is visible on the company's iOS App Store listing, though the feature doesn't seem to be fully enabled yet. The update was spotted by app researcher Jane Manchun Wong, who has previously uncovered details about "Twitter Blue." Twitter executives have previously spoken about creating features specifically for paid subscribers, but the company hasn't offered many details on pricing or what features may be included.
According to images shared by Wong, the service includes an "undo tweet" feature as well as a "reader mode" that makes it easier to view long threads. It also adds additional customization options, like new app icons. Continue reading.
Up to eight hours of battery life with noise-canceling on.
Yesterday it was LeBron and some unreleased Beats earbuds, and today we're talking about Sony's next set of earbuds. German-language outlet WinFuture has shared multiple official-looking renders of the WF-1000XM4 headphones and details on the new V1 processor they'll feature.
The chip will reportedly offer improved noise-cancelling performance, support for Sony's LDAC Bluetooth codec and better battery life. Their carrying case is rumored to add Qi wireless charging, while the buds themselves fix a missing feature from the current model with IPX4 water resistance that should mean they won't have a problem getting sweaty. Continue reading.
