Hasta La Gadget!

Netflix held a virtual event called DROP 01 to celebrate its forthcoming slate of animated projects. The showcase was an absolute cornucopia of trailers and announcements for animation fans, particularly those who enjoy video game adaptations (all of us.) It started with a global livestream of Castlevania: Nocturne’s first three episodes ahead of the official premiere later today.

After that, the hits kept on coming. We knew there was a Devil May Cry anime being produced, adapting the popular game series, and now we have a trailer. There’s no release date, other than “coming soon”, but the show’s being produced by Capcom and animated by Studio Mir, the same folks behind The Legend of Korra, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf and My Adventures With Superman. In other words, we should be in for a good time.

Sonic Prime is coming back for season three and there’s a trailer to prove it. The new episodes focus on the fallout of chapter two as the speedy hedgehog faces off against Nine Tails for the fate of the entire Green Hill Zone. Netflix makes games now and also showed off a trailer for the related mobile title Sonic Prime Dash.

It’s been nearly three years since the announcement of a Tomb Raider animated series, leaving fans wondering if the show would evaporate into vaporware heaven. Worry no longer. It’s real and it’s coming soon. Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is a team effort between game developer Crystal Dynamics and media dynamos Legendary Television. It’s being drawn by Powerhouse Animation, the studio behind Castlevania and Masters of the Universe. There’s no release date on this one yet but it looks nifty. 

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix isn’t exactly a video game adaptation, but it’s inspired by the world created in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. As such, Ubisoft is on board, as is Netflix’s animation wunderkind Adi Shankar. This is a cyberpunk show, through and through, with the unusual addition of Ubisoft mascot Rayman. The series releases soon, on October 19.

We don’t have that long to wait before Scott Pilgrim Takes Off graces our screens, as it premieres on November 17. To hype up fans, Netflix dropped a sneak peek with an actual scene from the show. The eight-episode series brings back every single cast member from the movie, including Michael Cera, Brie Larson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans and Aubrey Plaza.

It wasn’t all video game adaptations. Netflix also showed off trailers for the cinematic anime Blue Eye Samurai, a new season of Masters of the Universe: Revolution and a series based on Astro Boy called PLUTO. Prepare to go cartoon crazy in the coming months.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/netflix-animation-event-dropped-trailers-for-tomb-raider-devil-may-cry-and-sonic-160012736.html?src=rss

Maybe I’ve been too hard on widgets. Ever since they appeared in the macOS X dashboard, I’ve thought of them as a nuisance – tiny memory hogs that only exist to disappoint me with their limited functionality. Microsoft took a cue and brought them into Windows Vista, and now they’re back in Windows 11. Widgets are harmless, I know. But every time they’ve showed me the weather, or reminded me of an upcoming appointment, I’ve wished for a world where they didn’t disrupt the sanctity of my desktop experience.

Now I wouldn’t say macOS Sonoma made me a total widget convert. But, at the very least, it’s made me more tolerant of them. The new widget experience is a minor, but helpful quality of life upgrade – something that basically describes macOS Sonoma as a whole. There aren’t any major new features like last year’s Ventura, which brought over Stage Manager from iPads. But Sonoma shows that Apple can still come up with new ways to make its desktop OS more pleasant.

Photo by Devindra Hardawar/Engadget

You must widget

While you can still access widgets in macOS Sonoma’s notification center, something you could do for years, I never found that placement too compelling. My Mac isn’t like my iPhone or iPad, where I’m always trying to keep up with the latest alerts. I’m usually focused on getting some work done. By bringing widgets out of the side bar and onto the desktop, Sonoma integrates them far more organically.

Now, you don’t have to go out of your way to get a quick weather update, or to see the battery levels of your Apple devices. Your widgets are just always sitting there, ready for a quick glance whenever you close a few windows or expose the desktop (something I do frequently with hot corners). Apple also revamped many of its existing widgets to take advantage of the additional screen space.

Another new feature: You can bring over widgets from your iPhone (assuming it’s signed into the same iCloud account as your Mac, and is also on the same Wi-Fi network). Those have been hit or miss, in my experience. They often take a while to load properly on your desktop, and if you interact with them, they either redirect to a website or tell you to open their iPhone app. When I enabled Spotify’s iPhone widget on Sonoma, for example, it showed me the track I’m currently listening to, but that’s it. As soon as I touched the widget, it said I had to open Spotify on my iPhone to continue.

That wonkiness could be smoothed over if more developers start building macOS widgets. But Apple has been trying to make widgets a thing for years with little success. Maybe they’ll have more success now that widgets aren’t hidden away in a corner.

macOS finally gets serious about gaming

Historically, Apple has never really been a gaming-focused company. But with Apple Arcade and the unstoppable success of the mobile App Store, not to mention its own growing CPU and GPU prowess, the company has finally started to lean into games over the last decade. Now with macOS Sonoma’s Game Mode, Apple also has a way to focus its hardware to deliver the best performance possible.

It’s well-timed too, as we’re also seeing recent titles like Lies of P and Resident Evil Village make their way to the App Store. Some Steam offerings, like Tunic, Disco Elysium and Inscryption, also include Mac support. Game Mode won’t magically turn your Mac into a superpowered rig, but it’ll help achieve better framerates and lower latency by prioritizing what you’re playing.

Based on an hour of playing Lies of P on an M2-equipped 13-inch MacBook Pro, Game Mode helped to deliver a smooth, console-like experience. The game appeared to be hitting near 60fps while playing with medium settings at a 1,920 by 1,200 resolution, though it occasionally slowed to a 30fps crawl in expansive outdoor environments. Latency with my 8BitDo Ultimate controller felt minimal over Bluetooth, and I was also surprised that the game performed just as well on battery power.

Sonoma’s Game Mode won’t make me an all-Mac gamer anytime soon, but it’s a nice feature to have, especially if you don’t have access to consoles or PCs with beefy GPUs. It would also be nice to see cloud saves for native Mac games that can synchronize with other platforms. (Dead simple cloud saves are a major reason why I lean on Steam as my primary gaming storefront.)

Apple

The best screensavers ever

I wasn’t super excited to see macOS Sonoma’s aerial screensavers at first, mostly because I’ve been getting my fill of that lovely drone and helicopter footage since it debuted on the Apple TV in 2015. But in my months with the Sonoma beta, I’ve learned to appreciate them. Occasionally when I’m lost in thought (and probably trying to finish a review), an aerial screensaver will flip on and deliver a calming view of Hong Kong’s cityscape, or the fog over Sonoma Valley. It’s like a free brain massage, something that lifts me out of the daily stress of work, kids and home maintenance.

No matter how many times I see it, I still get a kick out of seeing aerial screensavers slowly pause to a stop and transform into my wallpaper. It’s purely aesthetics, but it’s the sort of thing few companies would spend much time on.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/macos-sonoma-review-widgets-gaming-141540494.html?src=rss

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have figured out a way to turn everyday earbuds into high-tech gadgets that can record electrical activity inside the brain. The 3D screen-printed, flexible sensors are not only able to detect electrophysiological activity coming from the brain but they can also harvest sweat. Yes, sweat.

More specifically, sweat lactate, which is an organic acid that the body produces during exercise and normal metabolic activity. Because the ear contains sweat glands and is anatomically adjacent to the brain, earbuds are an ideal tool to gather this kind of data.

You may be wondering why scientists are interested in collecting biometric info about brain activity at the intersection of human sweat. Together, EEG and sweat lactate data can be used to diagnose different types of seizures. There are more than 30 different types of recorded seizures, which are categorized differently according to the areas of the brain that are impacted during an event.

But even beyond diagnostics, these variables can be helpful if you want to get a better picture of personal performance during exercise. Additionally, these biometric data points can be used to monitor stress and focus levels.

Erik Jepsen, UC San Diego

And while in-ear sensing of biometric data is not a new innovation, the sensor technology is unique in that it can measure both brain activity and lactate. However, what’s more important is that the researchers believe, with more refinement and development, we will eventually see more wearables that use neuroimaging sensors like the one being made to collect health data on everyday devices. In a statement, UC San Diego bioengineering professor Gert Cauwenberghs said that, “Being able to measure the dynamics of both brain cognitive activity and body metabolic state in one in-ear integrated device,” can open up tremendous opportunities for everyday health monitoring.

Throughout the development of the sensor technology, the researchers had to grapple with some obstacles. They needed to make the sensors as small and thin as possible so that they could collect tiny sweat samples. They also had to integrate “components that can bend” to account for the irregular shape of the ear according to Ernesto De La Paz, a Ph.D. alumnus who co-authored the research.

One primary technical challenge was being able to fit the sensors in the ear, specifically in the tragus of the ear, which is an anatomically unique space situated in front of the ear canal that can vary from one individual to another. This led the researchers to create a “stamp-like stretchable sensor,” which can be easily tacked onto an earbud’s surface.

Erik Jepsen, UC San Diego

But in order to make sure that the sensors would actually have direct contact with the ear and accurately pick up readings, researchers opted for 3D printed, spring-loaded sensors that “hold contact but can adjust as earbuds move.” The biometric sensors also had to be covered with a hydrogel film that made sure they would amply collect sweat from a wearer.

Despite their capabilities and rosy future as a potential diagnostic aid, the 3D printed sensors really need a considerable amount of sweat in order to be useful for data analysis. But the researchers said down the line the sensors will be more precise, so hard workouts may not be necessary for meaningful sweat analysis.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/researchers-developed-3d-printed-sensors-that-can-record-brain-activity-on-earbuds-150000043.html?src=rss

It’s been nearly two years since the Fitbit announced the Charge 5. But the company has taken that time to deepen its ties with the Google services ecosystem. The Charge 6 is Fitbit’s first fitness tracker specifically designed to take advantage of its new owner’s services. Though, it’s no surprise that Google is tightening its bond with Fitbit after dropping $2.1 billion on the company.

The 6th generation Charge will start at $160, which is $20 less than the Charge 5’s launch price (though, that’s fallen to just $150 these days). The bigger news though, is that the navigation button is back. After an earful of complaints from buyers, Fitbit decided to bring back the physical side button that it removed on the Charge 5. This means you will no longer solely rely on tapping to navigate the watch’s apps — a relief for those with touchscreen fatigue.

Fitbit/Google

The Charge 6’s face is made of aluminum, glass and resin and comes in black, champagne gold or silver. Each face can be paired with three new primary silicone bands that are water-resistant — an off-white porcelain, a black-like obsidian and a bright coral band. The loops are interchangeable with previously released Charge 5 accessories, giving buyers dozens of color combinations to choose from. Like the previous generation, the bands come in both small and large sizes, and connect to the tracker’s 1.04-inch AMOLED touchscreen.

The Charge 6’s battery is supposed to last seven days without a charge, like its predecessor, and can be fully recharged in about two hours. In terms of memory capacity, the new wearable can save seven days worth of detailed motion data and can sample heart rate data at one-second intervals during exercise tracking.

Fitbit/Google

One of the biggest improvements to the Charge 6, at least according to Fitbit, is that it should provide heart rate readings that are up to 60 percent more accurate than its predecessor through its optical heart rate monitor and electrical sensors during vigorous activities like HIIT, spinning and rowing. Fitbit claims that the Charge 6 is the most accurate heart rate tracker it has made to date. This means you will get more precise information about calories burned and Active Zone Minutes, a metric unique to Fitbit that uses heart rate data to provide clearer insights into how effective your workouts are.

Another new key feature on the Charge 6 is the ability to pair the tracker with compatible exercise machines to see how your heart rate performs in real time during workouts. This will allow you to focus more on your movement and less on your wrist while you are on a treadmill, elliptical, rower or exercise bike. The tracker will pair with select workout machines that support Bluetooth Heart Rate Profile, like those from Peloton, Tonal and Nordic that the company has established partnerships with. While it is notable, this is a feature we’ve seen on devices from competitors.

Fitbit/Google

Additionally, Fitbit says the Charge 6’s tracking capabilities have expanded with 20 new exercise modes and it will continue to offer a 6-month premium Fitbit membership to new buyers. This will include smart recommendations for workouts based on your Daily Readiness Score which helps users figure out how hard to push it at the gym based on things like heart rate variability, sleep quality and stress levels.

Furthermore, as part of its software updates, Fitbit’s Charge 6 will now give you the option to stream and listen to music through YouTube Music Controls. Everyone knows good tunes can make all the difference during a workout. This is a considerable change from the Charge 5, which removed all music control functionality, even for Spotify Premium users. Now, you don’t need to pull out your phone to pick a song mid-run and you can skip through 100 million tracks that are available through YouTube. However, you will need to pay for a YouTube Music Premium subscription.

Fitbit/Google

In addition to tracking your pace and distance during runs and bike rides with GPS, the Charge 6 can now give you directions if you’re trying out a new route thanks to Google Maps integration. This means you can see turn-by-turn directions right on your wrist. In the same vein of expanding Google integration, you can also tap to pay with Google Wallet on the Charge 6, when previously you could only use Fitbit pay. All of these updates come in tandem with the launch of Fitbit’s redesigned app, which simplifies engagement to three categories on the Today tab, the Coach tab, and the You tab, each offering unique metrics and access to activities.

The Fitbit Charge 6 will work with most phones running Android 9.0 or newer or iOS 15 or newer and it still requires a Google Account. You can still get notifications for calls, texts, and smartphone apps like Google Calendar, Gmail, and WhatsApp and also send quick replies from your wrist.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/fitbits-160-charge-6-fitness-tracker-brings-back-the-physical-side-button-150028424.html?src=rss

After rumors began to swirl that Apple alum Jony Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman were having collaborative talks on a mysterious piece of AI hardware, it appears that the pair are indeed trying to corner the smartphone market. The two are reportedly discussing a collaboration on a new kind of smartphone device with $1…

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