Google and Apple are having a bad day. The tech giants are facing a new investigation into their mobile ecosystems from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and growing pressure to adopt a new app store initiative in India.
Let's start with the probe, which comes one day after the CMA named a former Amazon executive as its interim chair. The CMA is investigating whether Apple and Google's mobile ecosystems should have Strategic Market Status (SMS) and thus can be subjected to greater regulation and pro-competition directives. However, they're not fully clear what aspects exactly are being investigated. This new designation stems from the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, which went into effect on January 1. Google is also the subject of the first SMS investigation, launched earlier this month and focusing on possible antitrust practices around the company's search services.
The CMA's SMS investigations can last up to nine months, with both cases currently accepting comments on the investigation and possible interventions. The regulator is accepting submissions around the joint Google and Apple probe through February 12.
Now to Apple and Google's other headache. In India, the technology ministry is pushing Apple and Google to offer the state-backed GOV.in app store in their marketplaces, Bloomberg reports. The Indian government also wants the suite of apps to be pre-installed on all mobile devices, available for third-party downloads and not labelled with warnings such as "untrusted source." It is billing the push as a means for further distributing public-welfare services. These apps are currently available on Apple and Google's app stores, but as separate entities.
The initial request reportedly came in a meeting last month but, as it stands, Google and Apple are unlikely to say yes. The Indian government is reportedly discussing using mandates or taking legal steps to force compliance. In 2021, Apple began offering a similar option for Russian users due to regulations. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/uk-investigating-google-and-apples-mobile-ecosystems-135204025.html?src=rss
Google is paying HTC $250 million in cash for a deal that will give the bigger company's plans for Android XR a boost. Under the terms of their agreement, some members of the HTC Vive engineering team will be joining Google, which describes them as an "incredibly strong technical team with a proven track record in the VR space." HTC released the consumer version of its first Vive VR headset, designed in partnership with Valve, back in 2016. Last year, it launched the Vive Focus Vision more than a year after it released its first standalone headset for consumers, the Vive XR Elite.
In addition to absorbing certain Vive team members, Google will also get a non-exclusive license to use HTC'S extended reality technologies. HTC can still use its own IPs, and it vows to continue developing and supporting its XR headsets. The companies will also "explore future collaboration opportunities." Google says the deal will help "its acceleration across the headset and glasses ecosystem." The company laid out its vision for a unified Android XR ecosystem in December, which will span a range of virtual and mixed reality headsets and glasses. We're bound to see the first Android XR devices this year, including one codenamed Project Moohan from a Google-Samsung collaboration.
Google's and HTC's agreement is still subject to customary closing conditions and will be finalized sometime this first quarter.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/google-buys-part-of-htcs-vive-vr-team-for-250-million-130046567.html?src=rss
Xbox is hosting its Developer Direct showcase today, and you'll be able to watch along live on YouTube, Twitch or our handy embed below.
The stream starts as 1PM ET / 10AM PT and is supposed to feature updates from the developers of South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and Doom: The Dark Ages. Xbox is also promising to "visit a surprise location to see another studios brand new game." Windows Central reports the mysterious unannounced game is "a new entry in a legendary Japanese IP which has decades of history," which certainly sounds intriguing. At the very least, the rest of the games featured are slated to launch in 2025.
Xbox spent most of 2024 adjusting its strategy around releasing games, delaying some titles to this year, and bringing some formerly exclusive games to the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. The company seems like it's favoring timed exclusives over hoarding everything for Xbox and PC, so the job of this Developer Direct is a little bit different this time. Besides letting developers sell their games, the real test of the show is if it can get you excited about games that are coming to Xbox first, rather than only coming to Xbox at all.
You can watch the Xbox Developer Direct showcase on YouTube, Twitch, or right here in the embed above when it starts at 1PM ET / 10AM PT.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/how-to-watch-the-latest-xbox-developer-direct-showcase-110013502.html?src=rss
Canon announced that it has created a new 410-megapixel, 35mm full-frame CMOS sensor, "the largest number of pixels ever achieved" in a sensor of its size.
Because of the level of detail the new sensor can capture, Canon expects it to be used by"surveillance, medicine and industry," where there's demand for "extreme resolution." With 410 megapixels, Canon's sensor has a resolution of 24K, 198 times greater than HD, and 12 times greater than 8K. That makes it simple to crop and then enlarge a photo captured by the sensor without losing detail.
Typically, sky-high megapixel counts are limited to cameras with medium-format sensors. But the beauty of Canon cramming this many pixels into 35mm is that it should be able to be used "in combination with lenses for full-frame sensors."
Canon had to make more than a few design changes to make this happen. The new sensor has a redesigned circuitry pattern and a "back-illuminated stacked formation" where "the pixel segment and signal processing segment are interlayered." That translates to a readout speed of 3,280 megapixels per second, and video at eight frames per second. A monochrome version of the sensor can bin four pixels together at once to shoot even brighter images and capture "100-megapixel video at 24 frames per second," Canon says.
It doesn't sound like this kind of sensor is going to make it into a consumer camera anytime soon, but the fact this level of miniaturization is possible means one day it could, for the photography sickos who want it.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/canon-has-developed-a-410-megapixel-full-frame-sensor-001851969.html?src=rss
Extremely OK Games has cancelled its upcoming game Earthblade. The followup to the team's beloved indie sensation Celeste was announced in 2022 and expected to release last year. Maddy Thorson announced the news on the studio's website today.
"Noel and Ibegan to reflect on how the game has felt for us to work on day-to-day, and realized that it has been a struggle for a long time," she wrote. "Sure, working on one project for so long is bound to become a slog, but this feels like a deeper problem. Celeste's success applied pressure on us to deliver something bigger and better with Earthblade, and that pressure is a large part of why working on it has become so exhausting."
The studio, led by Thorson and Noel Berry, parted ways with EXOK co-founder Pedro Medeiros in November. However, Thorson was clear in her message that the rift between team members was not the reason for cancelling Earthblade. In fact, all of the public conversation between the former colleagues thus far has remained amicable. Thorson offered firm support for Medeiros and his new game project Neverway in her post: "If you were excited about Earthblade and angry about its cancelling, Pedro and the Neverway team aren't the enemy and anyone who treats them as such isn't welcome in any EXOK community."This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/extremely-ok-games-has-cancelled-its-follow-up-to-celeste-000352550.html?src=rss
Ten video games have received nominations for the 36th Annual GLAAD Media Awards. This program celebrates media works that feature "fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community and the issues that affect their lives." There are nominees for television, film, music, theater, journalism and comics as well as video games.
One of the 2024 nominees for outstanding video game is the re-release of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the Nintendo Switch. The original Japanese version of the GameCube title included a minor character named Vivian who was transgender. The game contained dialogue about her challenges being misgendered and her journey to understanding her own identity. However, the 2002 international translations of the game, including the English version released in the US, erased that side to the character, removing language around Vivian's gender and pronouns. Last year's Switch re-release restored the character's original lines and story arc for English-speaking players to finally experience.
The video game nominees also include Dragon Age: The Veilguard. BioWare has a long history of portraying queer characters and romance options in their games, and it's great to see them continuing that practice with the latest title. Horror film outfit Blumhouse's first foray into games, the fascinating indie project Fear the Spotlight, also received a nod. Here is the complete list of game nominees:
Caravan SandWitch (Studio Plane Toast / Dear Villagers)
Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts)
Dread Delusion (Lovely Hellplace / DreadXP)
Dustborn (Red Thread Games / Spotlight by Quantic Dream)
Fear the Spotlight (Cozy Game Pals / Blumhouse Games)
Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine / Square Enix)
Minds Beneath Us (BearBone Studio)
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Intelligent Systems / Nintendo)
Sorry Were Closed ( la mode games / Akupara Games)
Until Then (Polychroma Games / Maximum Entertainment)
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/glaad-media-awards-nominates-paper-mario-after-nintendo-restored-trans-representation-232157090.html?src=rss
Sega has introduced a new system for player accounts. A Sega Account will connect all of a player's games and services from both Sega and Atlus. It will also be a place for the two studios to share news, events, updates and promotions about their titles. The accounts are free and anyone can register.
To sweeten the pot, Sega will also offer bonuses and goodies to account members. The first reward people can unlock is a Kazuma Kiryu Special Outfit DLC for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii, which is due out next month. The ensemble can be redeemed by anyone who sets up a Sega Account before March 7.
With so many studios turning to games as a service, it's becoming standard practice to require players to create accounts or online profiles. Sega is a little slow to hop on this train, and there are some industry standard features in that are still in development for Sega Accounts, such as a page for records related to games played. There's no language on the website now about if or when an account might be required.
In announcing this platform, Sega said there will be "various new services and features coming soon." We already know that Sega is working on a brand new Virtua Fighter game, but we've also said good-bye to other old-school classics from the company. Seems like Sega is in a phase of transition, so it should be interesting to see what else they've got in store for this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/sega-unveils-a-player-account-system-221029962.html?src=rss
Dozens of subreddits have opted to block links to X in their communities over the last 24 hours in a movement that appears to be gaining momentum across Reddit. Hundreds more appear to be actively discussing or considering a similar move with their members.
Engadget counted more than two dozen subreddits, which collectively have millions of members, that have already restricted their communities ability to post content from X in some way in recent days. These include large subreddits, like r/formula1, which has nearly 5 million members, and smaller communities like r/ultraman, which has 30,000.
The movement seems to have been popularized, at least in part, by r/newjersey, whose mods announced a ban on X links Tuesday. Fuck this guy. X links are now banned from r/newjersey, they shared in a post that now has more than 65,000 upvotes. Accompanying the post was a photo of Elon Musk extending his arm, Musk made two apparent Nazi salutes during a speech at Donald Trumps inauguration which have been widely celebrated by fascists online.
A number of other subreddits quickly followed suit, with many sharing a link to the r/newjersey post. X links have been barred from r/military (489,000 members), r/comics (2.7 million), r/casualnintendo (184,000), r/spiderman (1 million), r/pcgaming (3.8 million), r/rupaulsdragrace (1 million), r/KingdomHearts (345,000), r/therapists (142,000), and many others. We weren't trying to start a trend, and we never expected to go viral, the mods of r/newjersey said in a statement to Engadget. Not everyone will agree with our choice, but Reddit has always been a place where each community gets to decide these things individually. If our announcement has inspired discussions about the role social media is playing in our current times, we think that's a good thing.
Many mods, in announcing their ban on X links have also cited the fact X has made it increasingly difficult for users to view posts if they arent logged in. Theres no doubt that over the past years Twitter has become a low-quality source: the login requirements, the flood of bots, the prioritization of content from paying users and promotion of sensationalist content, r/formula1s mods wrote in a post. But unlike with news sites in our source-rating system, for Twitter there wasnt really an alternative.
The subreddit is instead encouraging members to share content from Bluesky, which doesnt require a login to view posts. The mods said they will allow screenshots of relevant posts by teams, drivers & F1 when the same content isnt available elsewhere.
Moderators for r/antiwork, which has 2.9 million members, noted that their rules prohibit links and screenshots to X and all other social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram and even LinkedIn. We'd prefer for the message of antiwork to come organically from you, here, in OC form, but if it comes from a picture or post of something else, that catches hold, we want that, too, they wrote. Just not Twitter.
Many other subreddits are considering similar measures. Mods of r/dnd (4 million members), r/baseball (2.8 million), r/AlanWake (80,000) and r/Xmen (270,000) are currently running polls among their members. Moderators in r/hockey (2.7 million), r/georgia (237,000) and r/popheads (2.8 million) have also shared that they are discussing a potential ban.
Not all moderators have been receptive when such a ban has been raised. A mod in r/chess said that such a ban would pose a bit of a logistical problem for the community. The unfortunate reality is that Twitter is the source of a big portion of content on the subreddit, they wrote. A ban would thus require some rule changes. We're open to suggestions, but can't promise anything at the moment. Likewise, a moderator of r/fauxmoi, a subreddit dedicated to gossip, noted that we do prefer to still have the link so we can ensure that people are not submitting fake or doctored screenshots.
While this is far from the first time that Redditors have joined together in a form of protest, its notable that so many are calling to remove a popular source for Reddit posts.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/dozens-of-subreddits-are-banning-x-links-from-their-communities-215441510.html?src=rss
Samsung just held its Unpacked event and the company announced all kinds of new products. The most notable of the bunch, however, was likely the Galaxy S25 Ultra flagship smartphone. It's the most powerful of the just-announced S25 line and Amazon is offering a pretty swell pre-order bonus, to the tune of a $200 gift card.
Thats right. If you pre-order a Galaxy S25 Ultra handset, you get a $200 Amazon gift card that can be used on just about anything. This can help shave off some of the sticker shock of that $1,300 price tag.
If the price still isnt right, Amazon is offering similar promotions for the standard S25 and the slightly beefier S25+. However, the gift card amount shrinks to just $100. The regular S25 starts at $700 and the S25+ starts at $1,000.
Pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S25 series are open right now. Deliveries should start going out on February 7. We have full reviews of all three phones coming soon, if you want to wait make sure the handsets are worth the cost.
Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/amazon-includes-a-200-gift-card-when-you-pre-order-the-samsung-galaxy-s25-ultra-195455473.html?src=rss
Samsung is making a thin version of the Galaxy S25. The Galaxy S25 Edge was teased at the end of the company's Unpacked event, and it does appear to be meaningfully thinner than the other phones Samsung launched today.
There's very little to go off of in Samsung's tease. Voiceover describe the phone as "a culmination of our most innovative technology" and hypes up the device's apparent sleekness. Scrub through Samsung's livestream and you'll see components like a vapor chamber, cameras and metallic frames, but only the barest glimpse of the Galaxy S25 Edge's actual silhouette. At Samsung's live event in Korea, the new phone was actually on display. You can get a look at it in the embed below.
Galaxy S25 Edgewww.... https://t.co/L1JBl8DCRD pic.twitter.com/zofJ3BLyGX (@chehonz201) January 22, 2025
Samsung didn't share any more details about when the Galaxy S25 Edge will come out at its event, but Bloomberg reports that the phone will launch "in the US and other markets by the middle of the year." The device will also "use some of the same technologies as the new Ultra model," just in a slimmer package. "Samsung hasnt settled on a price," Bloomberg writes, "but acknowledged it will be cheaper than the $1,299-and-up Ultra."
The company won't be the only one trying to woo customers with thinness in 2025. Apple is also reportedly introducing the iPhone 17 "Air" later this year.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-teased-a-very-slim-phone-called-the-galaxy-s25-edge-193553033.html?src=rss
