Nike wants to make fitness apps accessible to more people with disabilities. The athletics gear maker has introduced adaptive workouts to the Nike Training Club app (available for Android and iOS) that you can perform whether or not you have a disability. The seven classes in this set target a wide range of movement and equipment, ranging from upper-body strength training with dumbbells to yoga.
A Nike athlete with limb loss, Amy Bream, leads all the classes. You’ll also find guidance from an adaptive training-focused physical therapist. Training Club already offers an exercise program for expecting and recent mothers.
The company isn’t alone in making these apps more accessible. Apple added Fitness+ workouts for pregnant people and seniors last year and has Apple Watch wheelchair workout tracking, for instance. Still, Nike’s move is an important step that could bring exercise apps to a wider audience.
Get a look at Dan Harmon’s next animated series. The Thing on the Doorstep is getting a new adaptation. Los Espookys makes its grand return. Plus, a glimpse at Riverdale’s season finale. To me, my spoilers!
Space launches, specifically morning space launches, are causing spectacular shining clouds to appear in new places, according to recent research published in the journal Advancing Earth and Space Science.
This week, Cherlynn and Devindra dive into the world of AI art with Senior Editor Dan Cooper and Creative Futurist John LePore. We know Dall-E and Midjourney can create some truly compelling images from a bit of text, but do they owe a debt to all of the images that they were trained on? Also, we explore the sorry state of Meta and Cherlynn gushes about the new Pixel Buds Pro. Stay tuned to the end of the show for our chat with Joshua Stiksma, Design Director of Moss 2, who discusses the current state of VR game development.
Listen above, or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you’ve got suggestions or topics you’d like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcasts, the Morning After and Engadget News!
Meta’s many problems and a reversal on Instagram plans – 27:35
Pixel Buds Pro review – 42:16
Bloomberg report reveals a few details about Grand Theft Auto 6 – 51:37
Playstation VR 2 will have live-streaming support and cinematic mode – 53:25
RIP Car Thing by Spotify – 54:35
Filipino politician wants to make ghosting illegal – 58:08
Listener Mailbag – 1:00:55
Working on – 1:08:05
Pop culture picks – 1:12:34
Interview with Polyarc design director Joshua Stiksma on Moss: Book II – 1:17:56
Livestream
Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn Low Guests: Dan Cooper and John LePore Producer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O’Brien Livestream producers: Julio Barrientos Graphic artists: Luke Brooks and Brian Oh
Samsung vowed to make foldable phones mainstream last year, and so far, more and more people have been embracing the form factor. In fact, the tech giant previously said that more people switched brands for the Galaxy Flip 3 than for its flagship devices. The company is set to unveil its next foldable phones in just a few days, but those who want to know what to expect can get a look at the upcoming phones through what seems to be marketing photos leaked by Evan Blass. He posted images of the Galaxy Z Flip 4 and Z Fold 4 in different colors and posed in different angles on 91Mobiles.
Based on the renders, the Z Flip 4 will be available in purple, blue, black and gold. Meanwhile, the Z Fold 4 will be available in black, dark gray and what seems to be beige. On the surface, they look pretty much identical to the current generation of foldables, and there’s no glaringly obvious difference in design. We’ll likely find out the subtle differences between them after Samsung officially launches the devices.
As The Verge notes, the images don’t exactly show whether the Fold 4 has its predecessor’s under-display selfie camera and whether it will finally have a slot for the S Pen. Since the Fold 3 supports input from Samsung’s S Pen, there were speculations that the next version will have a slot for the stylus. However, the most recent reports say that it may not have one after all.
We won’t know for sure until Samsung launches the devices. The good news is that we won’t have long to wait: Its next Unpacked event is scheduled to take place on August 10th. For now, you can check out the Fold 4’s and Flip 4’s leaked renders below:
YouTube has introduced a new tool that makes it easier for creators to turn regular videos into Shorts, it announced in a community update. If you have any of your own videos loaded up, you’ll see a new tool under “Create” called “Edit into a Short” right inside the main app. It lets you select up to 60 seconds of the video and bring it directly into the Shorts editor, where you can add text filters, or additional video, then upload it as a Short.
After you upload the Short, it links to the full video it was taken from via “Created from” link at the bottom of the video. That lets creators use Shorts as promo tools for the main video, helping drive views and engagement. However, the tool only works on your own content, unlike Cut, which lets you remix content from any video.
YouTube
I tried the tool out by creating a 10-second Short out of a longer video I created back in 2010 and it was as easy to use as advertised, letting me grab the best part of the video, embed text and add a filter.
The immense success of TikTok has forced all social media networks to respond in some way. However, Instagram recently backpedaled on its TikTok like full-screen feed and recommended posts features following a significant backlash from users. YouTube is arguably less threatened by TikTok as it offers longer-form content that draws a different audience. The new tool shows that it can have its (Short?)cake and eat it too, though, by letting creators offer Shorts as a form of publicity for their primary content.
At least eight people are dead in Eastern Kentucky after heavy rains pounded the state on Thursday, flooding roads and towns and forcing rescuers to save people stranded on rooftops and in trees.
Last month, Instagram started testing a full-screen display for photos and videos. And we didn’t like it. Now, Instagram boss Adam Mosseri says the test will be wound down over the next couple of weeks. “For the new feed designs, people are frustrated, and the usage data isn’t great,” Mosseri said to Platformer.
He added: “When you discover something in your field that you didn’t follow before, there should be a high bar — it should just be great,” he said. “You should be delighted to see it. And I don’t think that’s happening enough right now.”
Instagram brought in the full-screen feed and larger number of recommended posts to compete with TikTok and to contend with the pivot from photos to videos. The time spent by people watching Reels grew by 30 percent last quarter, and Mosseri said users’ gradual embrace of video was happening, regardless of Instagram’s own movements.
In an earnings call on Wednesday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said around 15 percent of the posts people see on Facebook (and even more on Instagram) are recommended by algorithms. Zuckerberg expects the volume of recommended posts to double over the next year or so.
It was so impressed with Ingenuity, NASA’s making two more space helicopters.
NASA has altered the Mars Sample Return Program meant to bring back the rock samples the Perseverance rover has been drilling and collecting from the Jezero crater. Instead of sending a rover to the red planet like originally planned, the program will use Perseverance itself and send over two helicopters. The Earth Return Orbiter and Sample Retrieval Lander will take off in fall 2027 and summer 2028. Their journey to and from the red planet will take years, so the samples aren’t expected to arrive on Earth until 2033.
The feature is in beta but will likely be available to all soon.
The PlayStation 5now supports 1440p, at least for gamers with access to its beta software. While the console has supported 1080p and 4K output from the start, 1440p support is still a much-requested feature by players who use monitors instead of TVs. However, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), which rolled out for the console in April, is only available for 1080p and 2160p. VRR gives the screen the ability to sync its refresh rate with the game for a smoother experience. It’s not quite clear why it’s not available for 1440p output.
The Inflation Reduction Act would also offer credits for used EVs.
Engadget
Automakers might just get the EV tax credit extension they’ve been hoping for. Senators Chuck Schumer and Joe Manchin may have agreed on an Inflation Reduction Act that would replace the 200,000-unit cap on federal EV tax credits with a system that would restore those perks for GM, Tesla and Toyota. According to Bloomberg sources, the new approach is a compromise that would switch to price- and income-based limits, drop union manufacturing requirements and even offer credits for used EVs.
With noise cancellation, the company’s best earbuds yet.
Engadget
Google’s latest Pixel Buds are its best yet, due mostly to the company finally checking a missing box: active noise cancellation. They do cost more, however, but the sound quality impresses, and there’s a host of handy features, like hands-free access to Assistant. There are a few shortcomings, but they remain Google’s best buds yet. Read on for our full verdict.
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