Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Friday, October 12, 2018.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

(Potentially) killer robots, an iPlane and the software update that can keep your supercar from catching on fire. There’s something for everyone in today’s recap.

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Major copyright reforms are coming to music.

Donald Trump signs the Music Modernization Act into law

Today, the president signed the Music Modernization Act into law with various celebrities, including Kid Rock, Mike Love and John Rich, present. It focuses on updating music copyright law to be current with the streaming era -- and hopefully, increase royalties for artists and songwriters. Officially named the Orrin G. Hatch Music Modernization Act, it was unanimously passed by both the House and the Senate, and streamlines the process for music licensing and updates rules about royalties for streaming music.

That really happened.

Kanye West wants Apple to build Trump an 'iPlane'

Nothing quite like pitching a hydrogen-powered plane, “made by Apple” to the President of the United States of America. All through the medium of GIFs.

Hardcore parkour.

Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot shows upgraded agility in 'Parkour' video

This summer workout clip features a bipedal battery-powered robot that not only jogs, but hops over obstacles and up an uneven obstacle course with nary a bobble. The 'bot now has enough processing power to use its legs, arms and torso to balance through the movements and power up each 40cm-high step, while using computer vision to locate the next one. Good luck escaping that one. Meanwhile, one of the company’s four-legged robots is ready to get a job.

Save $10 on these bluetooth bone conduction headphones.

Everyone can play.

‘Fortnite’ Android beta is now open to all

Waiting to play Fortnite on your Android phone. Well, now’s the time -- if you’ve got a device running Android Oreo 8.0 or higher. Epic games has opened the beta to these devices, meaning there’s even more players looking to battle royally.

New patents could kill off the robo-call.

iPhones may soon be able to automatically detect spam calls

No one likes spam calls. No one wants them. Apple’s latest patent aims at halting calls that may not be legit, adding a warning or outright stopping any call alerts for suspicious numbers.

Alexa has competition.

Google's smart home ecosystem has arrived

While Apple seems to be resting on its laurels when it comes to the smart home, Google is showing no signs of slowing down. Following its Pixel 3 event, it explained a bit more about Google Assistant and upgrades coming to the various Smart Displays (even if they don’t run Android Things) which will include multi-room audio and digital wellbeing features that are like the ones included with Android Pie.

But wait, there's more...

1. Xbox One October Update arrives with Avatars, Alexa, Cortana and Dolby Vision HDR

2. Ford will install a software update to keep new GTs from catching fire

3. Scientists are spotting deep space radio wave bursts at faster rates

4. Fyre Festival creator Billy McFarland gets a six-year prison sentence

5. Google Translate adds real-time translations for 13 new languages

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Engadget Email Newsletter

It's Thursday, October 11, 2018.

Hey, good morning! You look fabulous.

Good morning! Gaming company Razer has a new phone and a new laptop, PlayStation catches up with modern digital life, offering the chance to change our PSN user ID from “Dantesoulmate2008” and… we miss surprises.

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Everybody awake?

Soyuz spacecraft launch fails, astronauts land safely

A booster rocket failed soon after the launch of Expedition 57 to the ISS, initiating a “ballistic descent” for the Soyuz module and both crew members inside. As of this writing, search-and-rescue teams have reached Alexei Ovchinin and Nick Haig, who are out of the capsule and confirmed safe.

'Flagship gaming is our tagline.'

Razer Phone 2 hands-on: Closer to flagship

The Razer Phone 2 is just as bulky as the original, with squared edges and sharp corners that reveal its Nextbit heritage. For the camera, Razer switched from Samsung to Sony sensors, improved the lenses and threw in optical image stabilization for good measure. It's loaded with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 845 processor with an Adreno 630 GPU and 8GB of RAM to go with an improved 120Hz display. Prices start at $800 for a 64GB/8GB of RAM version, and pre-orders are open now.

Who wants a Razer laptop that looks like a MacBook Pro?

Razer's Blade 15 adds a base model and 'Mercury White' Limited Edition

Along with that new phone, Razer unveiled a $1,600 base model of its Blade 15 laptop, and a white (looks grey to us) Limited Edition version that can hide its gaming prowess in a sea of MacBook Pros.

You can become an Arduino DIY master for as low as $30

The preview will offer one free change, but the rest will cost you.

Sony will finally let you change your PSN Online ID

Finally. Finally. Finally. After years of talking about the possibility of changing your PlayStation Network handle, Sony is finally close to making that seemingly basic feature a reality. A PSN Online ID Change beta for "select" users is on its way. Your first name swap will be free, and after that, it'll cost $10 per change ($5 if you're a PlayStation Plus member) to discourage abuse. The preview for the feature will end in November, but don't worry -- it should reach all PS4 owners by early 2019.

Tech company launches are an exercise in box ticking.

What happened to the tech-event surprises?

Google's 2018 Pixel launch event gave us two phones, a new 2-in-1 PC and a smart display. Senior Editor Daniel Cooper has watched and attended a lot of product launches in his time, but has found recent showcases pretty unengaging. They’re lacking one key ingredient: surprise.

AI inside.

Android creator wants Essential's new phone to text and email for you

According to Bloomberg, Essential is putting aside all of its projects to focus on a phone that will double as an assistant: It will learn your behavior and be able to respond to messages for you. While the device will have a relatively small screen, its voice-controlled software will be able to book meetings, answer emails and text messages and more without your input, leaving you free to go about your day.

Is four enough?

Samsung’s Galaxy A9 is the first quad-camera phone

For Samsung, the past few months have revolved around the Galaxy Note 9, but the company saved a little something special for its next mid-range device. Samsung may have already announced a mid-tier handset with three rear cameras, but now it's revealed the new Galaxy A9, the world's first quad-camera smartphone. We took a closer look.