Following up on wonderfully detailed oversized models of vehicular Hollywood royalty like Tim Burton’s Batmobile and Ghostbusters: Afterlife’s Ecto-1, Lego is taking a second lap on the time-traveling DeLorean from the Back to the Future trilogy with a new set that lets fans build all three versions of Doc and Marty’s…
Jeff Zients and his deputy Natalie Quillian will leave the administration next month. Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, will take over.
The James Bond, Rocky and RoboCop movies are now the property of Amazon. The company has closed its $8.45 billion takeover of storied movie and TV studio MGM.
European Union antitrust regulators unconditionally approved the deal this week. They determined there wasn’t a great deal of overlap between the two companies, and that “MGM’s content cannot be considered as must-have” compared with other studios.
Amazon had reportedly given the Federal Trade Commission, which was said to have been reviewing the buyout, a deadline of mid-March to challenge or approve the acquisition. If the agency didn’t file a legal challenge by then, Amazon would have been free to move forward with the purchase.
MGM “will complement Prime Video and Amazon Studios’ work in delivering a diverse offering of entertainment choices to customers,” Amazon said in a press release. The studio has more than 4,000 films and 17,000 episodes of TV to its name, along with 180 Oscars and 100 Emmy Awards. MGM movies include classics such as Thelma & Louise, The Silence of the Lambs, The Wizard of Oz, The Magnificent Seven and Raging Bull.
Amazon will still release James Bond movies in theaters instead of hanging onto them as Prime Video exclusives (though it wouldn’t be surprising to see Bond reading by the pool with a Kindle in his next outing). It’s likely that the vast majority of MGM movies and TV shows will wind up on Prime Video following theatrical runs and after agreements with other streaming platforms expire.
Almost a year after Samsung revealed the Galaxy A52 (and the rest of the 2021 Galaxy A family), the company is back with even more phones. While the foldables and the Galaxy S22 line might grab the headlines and raise the bar for specs, the Galaxy A phones have been a commercial success, combining decent specifications with large screens, complicated camera arrays and Samsung’s premium aesthetic.
The new Galaxy A53 and the A33 don’t diverge from this strategy – it is working, after all – but instead introduce 5G connectivity and Samsung’s more powerful 5nm Exynos chips. They also look remarkably similar to each other and the extended Samsung Galaxy phone family.
I’ll focus on the A53 5G, which is coming to the US on April 1st, priced at $450. It has a 6.5-inch AMOLED display that’s capable of 120Hz refresh rates, matching last year’s model. Samsung says it’s capable of adaptive refresh rates, but couldn’t specify the range as of this writing. Still, it’s rare to see any degree of adaptive refresh rates in phones at this price. Smooth scrolling is usually the hallmark of an expensive device, so I was pleasantly surprised in a recent demo session to find that interacting with the A53 felt similar to using more expensive phones like the S22. There are some signs that it’s not quite as premium as Samsung’s top phones, with a notable bezel around the display.
Samsung puts a lot of emphasis on its camera innovations, and the A series has benefited from that. In 2022, that means another quad-camera system – take that, iPhone SE. The main 64-megapixel sensor has optical image stabilization and an f/1.8 aperture, which works alongside a 12MP fixed-focus ultra-wide camera, and two 5MP sensors: one for depth detection and another for macro shooting.
Samsung’s briefing rooms aren’t the best place for an impromptu photoshoot, but with a high-res primary camera, I was pleasantly surprised at the detail I captured from some of the set dressing. When lighting was consistent, I was able to take some sharp shots of other attendees, with an array of filters to add while using the camera app. (These filters are also now available across the A53’s other cameras.)
The camera system benefits from the new 5nm Exynos 1280 Octa-core processor inside the phone, Samsung says the power of this new chip made its AI-augmented night mode shooting possible. The A53 can draw together 12 frames and create a more stable (hopefully more detailed) single image. The A53 can also adjust video capture frame rates to improve shot quality. You’ll also get some of the most recent Samsung photo editing features, like Object Eraser and Photo Remaster to help salvage more of your shots.
Samsung says improvements from the new processor should be felt elsewhere, too, claiming a 43 percent increase in GPU performance and a 31 percent boost in AI processes. (Like the aforementioned night mode.)
Yes, the design is very similar to last year’s A52, but the introduction of 5G and a more powerful chip could ensure that this device is more future-proof than its predecessor. Samsung promises four years of software updates, and both new A-series phones will come with the latest version of its One UI – which is currently making its way to the rest of the Galaxy phone range.
Samsung’s approach to affordable mid-range phones stands in contrast to how Apple reintroduced the iPhone SE earlier this month. And yet, the phones will inevitably face comparisons. Samsung has gone to great lengths to ensure the A53 fits in alongside the S22 and the S22 Ultra both design-wise and when it comes to cameras. Meanwhile, Apple’s iPhone SE keeps a classic design but pairs it with a powerful cutting-edge chip found in its most-expensive devices. Preferences on iOS versus Android notwithstanding, it could come down to whether you want a new phone with a big screen, or one that easily fits into your pocket.
The Galaxy A53 5G will be available for preorder on April 1st across T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T, with the phone launching on April 8th. Besides carriers, you’ll get the choice of white and black color options, as well as new powder blue and peach hues, if you’re looking for something a little different.
To make their Mini Cheetah better equipped to skillfully scramble across varying terrains, robotics researchers at MIT’s CSAIL used AI-powered simulations to quickly teach the bot to adapt its walking style as needed. That included learning how to run, which resulted in a new gait that allows the robot to move faster…
Netflix hasn’t shown much of its wild plans for Resident Evil yet, including the first live-action TV series based on the iconic horror video games. But it seems like we won’t have to wait much longer to see more—because the series is now only just a few more months away.
Apple’s release strategy in the past few years has been confusing and occasionally infuriating. At one point, the tech giant went on an aggressive campaign to grab hold of the professional market. In doing so, it left its core enthusiasts behind. The company flexed its muscles with ultra-premium but prohibitively…
The Mac Studio fills a hole not just in Apple’s portfolio, but in the hearts of enthusiasts who have longed for a mid-range Mac desktop. Its arrival is an unlikely one. For years, it felt as if Apple was resigned to relegate the Mac as an afterthought and focus on its lucrative mobile platforms. The problem was that…
Graham told the White House counsel he’d press for the 25th Amendment if Trump didn’t denounce the Capitol rioters, according to a new book.
iRobot’s latest software update gives its Roomba robot vacuums and Braava jet robot mops the ability to respond to Siri voice commands. The Genius 4.0 Home Intelligence update adds Siri Shortcut Integration to the iRobot Home app, allowing iOS users to connect their devices to Apple’s voice assistant. Similar to Google Assistant and Alexa users, they can set up their custom phrases or simply say “Hey Siri, ask Roomba to clean everywhere” to start the vacuum.
Genius 4.0 also gives users the capability to create customizable smart maps for the Roomba i3 and i3+ models, which they can access if they want their devices to clean specific rooms in the house. They can also create custom cleaning routines based on their schedules, automatons and the rooms they want to send the vacuum to. These particular features are now available in the Americas and will make their way to customers in Europe, Middle East and Africa by the end of the third quarter.
Users who own a Roomba s9/s9+, Roomba j7/j7+, Roomba i7/i7+ and Braava jet m6 — all Imprint Smart Mapping-capable robots — will have more control over how their robots clean, as well. They can program their machines to thoroughly clean a high traffic area, for instance, and give rooms that aren’t always occupied a quick pass.
To prevent accidental starts, owners will be able to activate a Child & Pet Lock option in the iRobot Home app. When switched on, it deactivates the physical clean button on WiFi-enabled vacuums and mops, which can then only be activated through the application. In addition, a new Do Not Disturb feature ensures the machines won’t switch on at times the user specifies, such as when they’re sleeping or expected to be on video calls for work or for school. Finally, the update gives the Roomba j7 and j7+ the ability to avoid clothing and towels on the floor, in addition to the other objects (including poop!) they can already recognize.
While Do Not Disturb is already available globally, the other features might take some time to reach all users. The software update has already started making its way to customers worldwide, but the rollout won’t be finished until the end of June.
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