Even if I have to save from now until I'm 60, I really want to be a space tourist. And we're getting a little closer.
On Memorial Day, Virgin Orbit's first launch demonstration ended unremarkably. The spaceflight firm reported a "clean release" of LauncherOne from the Cosmic Girl host aircraft, but the rocket's journey "terminated shortly into the flight." In other words, LauncherOne didn't have a realistic chance of reaching orbit.
This was the first time anyone had lit up a liquid-fueled rocket at high altitude in a horizontal position, and it wasn't clear if the rocket would last more than a brief moment, let alone get to orbit.
Virgin Orbit CEO Dan Hart said, after the launch demo: "We took a big step forward today. Our engineers are already poring through the data. Our next rocket is waiting. We will learn, adjust and begin preparing for our next test, which is coming up soon."
Our space-tourist dreams are coming -- they just need a little more time, I hope.
—Mat
The best grilling gear
Grills, gadgets and a… vacuum sealer?
Engadget
Okay, so the newsletter might have missed this guide in time for Memorial Day, but the great season of BBQ is upon us, so there's no better time for Billy Steele, Engadget's cooked meat maven, to guide you through the best tech upgrades from grilling, cooking and sous-vide… ing? Continue reading.
Sony's flagship Xperia 1 II will ship in July for $1,200
It offers 5G, pro photo features and a 4K HDR display.
Sony
Sony's flagship Xperia 1 II smartphone will ship on July 24th for an eye-watering $1,199 in the US, the company announced. Pre-orders open up on June 1st, and if you buy before June 28th, you'll get a pretty nice gift: a free pair of Sony's excellent WF-1000XM3 noise-canceling wireless earbuds.
The Xperia 1 II has a big 6.5-inch 21:9 4K HDR OLED screen, and you can even use it as an external display for select Sony cameras. The phone itself packs a triple camera setup developed with the engineers behind Sony's A7 III and other popular mirrorless cameras. The three 12-megapixel cameras (wide, ultrawide and zoom) can shoot at up to 20 fps in burst mode with autofocus and auto-exposure enabled, making it suitable for action and sports shooting. It can also do human/animal eye-tracking and comes with pro photography and movie settings to give you full manual control.Continue reading.
You can try crowdfunded space sim 'Star Citizen' for free right now
The trial event runs until June 2nd.
Star Citizen
Star Citizen was first announced through Kickstarter in 2012 and raised over $2 million. The crowdfunding campaign then continued on its official website and has pulled in more than $286 million to date. I'm not even joking.
As funds and backers have increased, so have Star Citizen's scope and ambitions, forcing the company to push back its official release date and appease backers with smaller alpha builds.
If you're curious about the state of the game, good news: It's currently free to play. Developer Cloud Imperium Games is running a two-week 'Free Fly' event to celebrate its fictional Invictus Launch Week. Until June 2nd, anyone can sign up for an account and test-fly some fictional spaceships. Continue reading.
'Call of Duty: WWII' is the next free PS Plus game, and it arrives tomorrow
It's dropping a week earlier than usual.
Free games? Still trapped indoors? Here we go. Sony is releasing its next free PS Plus title a bit early. And it's a pretty big one -- subscribers can snag Call of Duty: WWII at no extra cost, starting tomorrow. It's certainly an improvement from its May lineup, which included Cities: Skylines and Farming Simulator 19.Continue reading.
Making an indie phone is not for the faint-hearted
It's not impossible, but it might as well be.
Davidson, Wurzer, Boyer
Apple and Samsung make the most popular phones in the world. They're all smartphones, and they have a lot more in common with each other.
Phones got samey and very large — and that's inspired smaller companies to make more niche phones. But when was the last time you saw someone with something like a Nextbit Robin, a Yotaphone or a Fairphone?
Despite these alternative companies struggling to find a place to sell their phones (or an audience to buy them), there's a rising trend of individuals picking up the baton. What if you or I wanted to make a phone? Is it even possible? Maybe, but not without many, many challenges. James Trew tackles the world of the indie phone -- and devices you've probably never even heard of. Continue reading.
Graphing calculators have clung on to school lives despite us all carrying around smartphones that are several magnitudes more powerful. (Let's not even get into wearables.)
In a bid to reduce cheating in exam settings, Texas Instruments is pulling support for assembly- and C-based programs. If you install the latest firmware update, those kinds of programs won't work, and you won't be able to roll-back the device.
While this could please teachers worried that students will use apps on their calculator to cheat during exams, enthusiasts are, unsurprisingly, mad. It reduces the control programmers have over their calculator apps. It also might not have the intended effect.
Some have already found ways to bypass the calculators' Exam Mode — the updates may block 'casual' cheaters, but not determined ones. How much do you need that grade?
— Mat
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 leaks hint at S20 Ultra and giant dimensions
Even the base Note 20 may be huge.
OnLeaks and Pigtou
The Galaxy Note family tends to borrow a few cues from the S series that preceded it, but these cues might be more conspicuous than usual this year. Leak-based renders for the Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20+ suggest that big screens are the order of the day — the usual for Note devices. The Note 20+ will reportedly have a 6.9-inch screen, like the S20 Ultra, while even the 'regular' Note 20 would boast a 6.7-inch display. It would be a big jump from the relatively petite 6.3-inch Note 10 of last year. Continue reading.
Two of Apple's former HomePod masterminds prep a 'revolutionary' speaker
This includes the architect of one of the HomePod's key features.
Engadget
There is no shortage of smart speaker options, but here's another challenger. Financial Times sources say that ex-Apple design legend Christopher Stringer (who worked on the HomePod, Apple Watch and iPhone) and engineer Afrooz Family (who was heavily involved on the spatial audio system on the Apple smart speaker) are using their startup Syng to develop a "revolutionary" speaker system that would tackle both the HomePod as well as Sonos' home audio devices — and the rest.
Their upcoming Cell speakers would reportedly use a mix of Stringer's design and Family's audio engineering to produce "immersive [audio] rendering" with sound "indistinguishable from reality," according to the investment pitch.
The first Cell speaker is due in the fourth quarter of the year, according to FT, but it's not certain how the pandemic will affect that timeline. Continue reading.
Hacked NES Power Glove controls a modular synth with finger wriggles
It's more artistic flourish than instrument.
YouTube
Look Mum No Computer (aka Sam Battle) has hacked an NES Power Glove into a gesture controller for his modular synth setup. All he has to do is bend his fingers to adjust the filter cutoff, pitch, pulse width and volume. Yes, the result is just as strange and beautiful as it sounds — Battle just has to wriggle his fingers to add an extra flourish to an electronic tune. He's gone further, making an animatronic hand that takes input from the synth to control the glove, which in turn controls the synth. It's a feedback loop with a robot hand. Check out how it sounds right here.
Israel restricts COVID-19 phone tracking to 'special cases'
It has to use less intrusive measures first.
Israel's original plan to track the phones of those who contracted COVID-19 won't get very far. The country's cabinet has restricted the use of the Shin Bet security agency's phone surveillance to "specific and special cases" where officials can't determine an infected person's location using "other methods." The government might review the use of tracking if there's a surge in cases.
Officials initially wanted to track the location of virtually every infected person with technology originally intended to fight terrorism. Privacy advocates quickly objected, though, and the Israeli parliament put a stop to it after determining that the drawbacks outweighed the benefits. At the same time, the country has been easing lockdown measures as the number of coronavirus cases subsides. Continue reading.
Formula E racer disqualified for using an esports ringer in a virtual race
Professional sim racer Lorenz Hoerzing secretly competed in his place.
Formula E
Formula E Audi driver Daniel Abt has been disqualified from an esports race and fined €10,000 for using a ringer in his place. Rivals became suspicious after he qualified in second place and went on to take third in the Formula E Race at Home Challenge, despite never having finished higher than 15th before. It turned out that professional e-sim racer Lorenz Hoerzing was at the wheel.
You might have recalled that several recent online races, like Le Mans, have rules to stop esports ringers taking all the prizes. This must be why. Continue reading.
As we settle in for a holiday weekend in the US, we're looking forward to next week's big event: a groundbreaking trip to space.
SpaceX Demo-2 test fire
(NASA/Joel Kowsky)
The Demo-2 mission will be the first crewed launch from US soil since 2011, as SpaceX's Crew Dragon undertakes its final flight test. NASA confirmed everything is on schedule for launch May 27th at 4:33 PM ET -- we'll be watching.
-- Richard
The best deals we found this week: Pixel 3a, the HomePod and more
Plus Memorial Day sales.
Engadget
Google's Pixel 3a and 3a XL smartphones hit a new low this week at Best Buy and Amazon, at $280 and $320, respectively. Other products that we spotted at a discount include Apple's HomePod for $200, and the 10.2-inch iPad at $250. If you're looking for a new laptop, then keep an eye on Memorial Day deals including the HP Envy x360 for $650, the Lenovo ThinkBook 13s for $640 and the Lenovo Yoga C940 for $1,450.
Valentina Palladino has the full rundown for you, and for more updates on Twitter, be sure to follow the new @EngadgetDeals account. Continue reading.
Surface Book 3 15-inch review: Beautiful, yet limited
Its flexibility comes with some compromises.
Engadget
Microsoft's latest Surface Book hasn't changed much about its combination laptop/tablet design and is still a uniquely capable machine. This time around it has an even more powerful GPU inside, with our test model sporting NVIDIA's GTX 1660 Ti.
The downside of its detachable screen is that it has to work as a tablet too. That's why you can't get one with the more powerful six- or eight-core CPUs offered by competing laptops like the 16-inch MacBook Pro or Dell XPS 15. With its price starting at $2,300 with a Core i7-1065G7 CPU, 16GB of RAM, 256GB SSD and NVIDIA's GTX 1660 Ti, Devindra Hardawar sees the Surface Book 3 as "too familiar and underpowered" -- read on for the full review. Continue reading.
Apple and Google's COVID-19 contact tracing tech is ready
It's not an app, it's an API.
Google
Just a few weeks after Google and Apple announced plans to collaborate on developing Exposure Notification technology for their mobile operating systems, the software is ready. On iPhones, it's a part of the iOS 13.5 update rolling out now, which also makes it easier to use FaceID while wearing a mask. For Android 6.0 or above, a Play Services update will deliver it in the background.
The notification tech works through Bluetooth, with phones exchanging and storing keys whenever they're in range of each other. Public health agencies tie into the opt-in system with their apps, and if a user tests positive, it can alert people who may have been exposed. Continue reading.
The seven-seater would have had almost twice the range as Tesla's Model X.
Dyson, a company more famous for its vacuums and household goods, canceled its EV plans late last year -- and we didn't even get to see the thing. Having its founder top The Sunday Times' Rich List in the UK was enough to publish some photos of both the car and its interior, however. The "N526," would have been a seven-seater with a whopping 600-mile range per charge. This was largely thanks to the company's proprietary solid-state batteries.
Dyson's aluminum car could go from zero to 62MPH in 4.8 seconds (about half a second more than the long-range Tesla Model X), with its top speed apparently reaching 125MPH (30MPH shy of the Model X's).
The project ended up costing £500 million of Dyson's own money before he put a stop to it. Unlike other traditional car brands, the company doesn't have a fleet of profitable gasoline or diesel cars to offset the "huge losses" on every electric vehicle made — apparently, each Dyson electric car would have needed to make £150,000 for the company to break even. Continue reading.
I tuned in to watch the experience live (you can see a clip right here), and while the quality was certainly good enough, the hassle of clicking through Fortnite's menus was a bit more work than just waiting another five minutes to see it in full-screen on YouTube. Still, we'd expect to see more events like this in the future, and Nolan apparently plans to screen one of his flicks in the game later this summer.
-- Richard
Samsung lets you ignore nature with its 2,000-nit outdoor QLED TV
4K meets the backyard.
Samsung
This Terrace TV comes in 55-, 65- and 75-inch models and is starting to go on sale in the US and Canada. Along with QLED tech and 4K resolution, the Terrace has a weather resistance rating of IP55, provides 2,000 nits of brightness -- enough to see clearly in daylight -- and includes an anti-glare coating. The 65-inch model's sticker price is about $5,000. Continue reading.
DaVinci Resolve 16.2 can take on Premiere Pro CC
It's now much faster and easier to use.
Engadget
Since Blackmagic Design's Resolve 16 came out last year, a lot of video editors may have been tempted to ditch Adobe Premiere Pro CC. The biggest reason might be their bank balance: Resolve 16 is free, and even the $300 Studio version costs less over time than Adobe Premiere Pro's obligatory monthly plans.
According to Steve Dent, the cost isn't the whole story, though. Resolve 16 is quite an improvement over the last version, especially when it comes to ease-of-use. And while Premiere Pro CC seems to get slower and buggier with every release, Resolve 16 has become cleaner and snappier. Steve tests out both. Continue reading.
Netflix will start canceling long-dormant subscriptions
If your account is collecting dust, it'll ask if you want to keep paying.
If you signed up to Netflix at least a year ago but haven't watched anything, or you haven't streamed something on the platform in the last two years, Netflix will ask you via email or app notification if you want to keep subscribing. If you don't respond, it'll automatically cancel your plan. Only a few hundred thousand accounts (less than 0.5 percent of total Netflix users) meet these criteria. So, why announce it?
It's a good thing, sure, but I can't unravel the business sense in it. Guess I shouldn't complain. Continue reading.
Razer's Blade Pro 17 adds 300Hz screen and RTX 2080 Super GPU options
Its form factor and weight have remained the same.
Razer
The Blade Pro 17 is now equipped with either a 300Hz 1080p IPS display ideal for gaming or a 4K 120Hz TFT touchscreen aimed at content creators. Powering all those Hz is Intel's latest 2.3GHz eight-core i7-10875H CPU, which can be boosted up to 5.1GH and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Super Max-Q graphics.
It arrives later this month at Razer.com and other retailers in the US and Canada, starting at $2,600 with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Max-Q graphics and going up to $3,800 with an RTX 2080 Super Max-Q GPU. Continue reading.
Need a reason to sign up for yet another streaming service? HBO Max launches next week, but the surprise news is that in 2021, it will host a "Snyder Cut" of Justice League. For years a very loud segment of fans have clamored for a version reflecting Zack Snyder's original vision of the DC team-up flick, and apparently execs at Warner will give them what they want.
HBO Max
Snyder said in an interview that this is "an entirely new thing" from the Joss Whedon-directed version that came to theaters. The Hollywood Reporter suggests it may arrive as a chaptered miniseries instead of a movie, and it could cost more than $20 million to finish. That's a long way to go to answer a hashtag campaign, but it may reflect just how competitive the streaming wars are getting.
-- Richard
Apple and Google's COVID-19 contact tracing tech is ready
It's not an app, it's an API.
Apple/Google
Just a few weeks after Google and Apple announced plans to collaborate on developing Exposure Notification technology for their mobile operating systems, the software is ready. On iPhones, it's a part of the iOS 13.5 update rolling out now, which also makes it easier to use FaceID while wearing a mask. For Android 6.0 or above, a Play Services update will deliver it in the background.
The notification tech works through Bluetooth, with phones exchanging and storing keys whenever they're in range of each other. Public health agencies tie into the opt-in system with their apps, and if a user tests positive, it can alert people who may have been exposed. Continue reading.
Samsung made a Galaxy S20 Tactical Edition for the military
The phone itself is standard, but a ruggedized casing is also available.
As the name suggests, this smartphone is designed to meet the needs of the US military and federal government. It touts two layers of encryption strong enough to handle top-secret data and connects to tactical radios and mission systems out of the box.
There's a night vision mode for use by someone wearing goggles, Stealth mode cuts off all wireless communication to disappear from the grid and its touch sensitivity adjusts to account for gloved hands. Continue reading.
Snag Apple's 16-inch MacBook Pro for $300 off at Amazon
Complete with the Magic Keyboard.
Amazon is selling the base version of Apple's high-end laptop for $2,099 -- a full $300 off. That nets you a six-core Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of storage and Radeon Pro 5300M graphics, or more than enough for everyday use and some heavy-duty tasks. Just be aware that you'll have to wait until the system comes back in stock (June 9th as of this writing). Continue reading.
Sony teases a compact vlogging camera with flip-around screen
It's like an RX100 but better.
Sony is teasing a new 4K compact camera arriving May 26th, and rumor has it that it will be designed for vlogging. Called the ZV-1, it will be based on Sony's popular RX100 VII with some key differences, according to a leak. While it reportedly packs eye-tracking autofocus and a capable-for-a-compact 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor, it comes with a different 24-70mm f/1.8-2.8 lens, large record button, three-capsule microphone, fully articulating display and a grip. In short, it's for video-blogging. I'm a huge fan of the RX100 series; it has compact cameras that take killer photos. I'm excited about this. Continue reading.
