 |
|
|
|||||
If you're concerned about how new US tariffs might affect future electronics purchases, look no further than DJI. The company has raised the price of its popular Osmo Pocket 3 camera to $799, or $280 (54 percent) more than it cost at launch. The Pocket 3 Creator Combo that includes a wireless Mic 2 and other accessories also went up from $700 to $950. Recent tariffs levied by President Trump on Chinese products were "certainly among the key considerations" for the hefty price bumps, the company told The Verge. The Osmo Pocket 3 was a success from the get go, thanks to the built-in gimbal, motorized subject tracking and large 1-inch sensor that delivers excellent video quality, even in low light. It's widely beloved by content creators for those reasons and is a recommended option in several of Engadget's camera buying guides in fact we bought some for our own reporters. It's fair to say that the new tariffs are 100 percent behind the price increase, despite DJI's diplomatic wording. The price is the same as at launch in Europe and in Canada, suggesting that there are no other technical reasons to raise it. DJI quietly boosted the US price from $520 to $620 a couple of months ago, around the time that Trump first announced potential tariffs on Chinese products. Other DJI products like drones have yet to rise in price, however. DJI said that the Osmo Pocket 3 is one of the best selling products in the history of the company and that it's popularity "continues to exceed expectations." However, much of that popular was likely due to the original $520 price (on top of the camera's strong feature set), that was a bargain next to standard compact cameras like Canon's new $899 PowerShot V1. At $799, the Pocket 3 loses some of its competitive advantage. It's difficult to find the Pocket 3 in the US (and elsewhere) at any price at the moment, though DJI says it's striving to keep up with demand. On top of all that, the company is facing a full ban of its drone products in the US in 2026 unless it obtains an exemption from regulators. That will affect the company as well as consumers, as its drones are widely used in production, emergency services and elsewhere and it's far ahead of rivals in terms of technology. DJI sent a formal letter to five national security agencies (DHS, DoD, FBI, NSA, and ODNI) in March requesting that any or all of the agencies begin evaluating its products "right away." This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/djis-osmo-pocket-3-camera-now-starts-at-799-following-trumps-tariffs-131536721.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
In an earnings call for the quarter ending in March, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company expects to pay around $900 million for US tariffs for the months of April to June. Apple saw limited impacts from tariffs for the months January through March, which doesn't come as a surprise since most of the government's new import taxes didn't exist before April. The company was also able to optimize its supply chain and inventory before then. Cook admitted that Apple can't give a precise estimate of the impact tariffs will have on the company in the coming months because the Trump administration's rules could still change the future. "For the June quarter, currently, we are not able to precisely estimate the impact of tariffs as we are uncertain of potential future actions prior to the end of the quarter," the CEO explained. The $900 million figure came from the company's estimates, assuming "current global tariff rates, policies and applications do not change for the balance of the quarter and no new tariffs are added." Investors seemed relieved that Apple is only slated to spend $900 million to pay the new taxes, which is a drop in the bucket for a company valued at over $3 trillion. When an inventor asked what tariffs would look like for Apple after June, though, Cook said: "I dont want to predict the future, because Im not sure what will happen with the tariffs." "For our part, we will manage the company the way we always have, with thoughtful and deliberate decisions, with a focus on investing for the long term, and with dedication to innovation and the possibilities it creates," Cook assured investors. Apple posted a quarterly revenue of $95.4 billion, up 5 percent year over year, for January to March 2025. Apple told CNBC that it's manufacturing half the iPhones meant for the US in India instead of China, which would mean lower tariff rates for the company. It will also manufacture most of its other products for the US in Vietnam. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/apple-could-spend-900-million-on-tariffs-over-the-next-quarter-123037323.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
Despelote is a living memory. Julián Cordero, the game's co-creator, invites players to spend a few hours in the city of Quito, Ecuador, in the early 2000s, and experience a nationwide soccer fever from the perspective of his own childhood. Wrapped in layers of static and shadow, Despelote follows an 8-year-old Cordero as he interacts with his family, attends school and kicks a ball around with friends. Pivotal national events, revealed in news reports and overheard conversations, color the game's runtime. But its focus remains squarely on Cordero's experience a charmingly self-centered child viewing the world from hip height. In Despelote, its the summer of 2001 and Ecuador is on the verge of qualifying for its first-ever World Cup, which has created a soccer frenzy across the country. Soccer is a storytelling mechanic in Despelote, as Cordero runs around Quito kicking a ball, playing a FIFA-style video game, watching World Cup matches on TV and generally annoying his neighbors. Using actual recordings from Quito, Despelote captures intimate conversations, inside jokes and everyday chatter among Corderos friends and family members (in Spanish, obviously, with translations provided in speech bubbles). The games environments are built out of photographs of Quito that have been stylized to mimic the way memories feel single-color, fuzzy backgrounds with people and important objects outlined in crisp black and white. Actual footage of the Ecuador team making its World Cup run plays out on in-game TVs, and youre able to sit and watch an entire match on a small, staticky screen, if you wish. These true-to-life elements ground the game in reality, while visual flourishes make everything seem like a daydream, and the combination of styles is hypnotic. Transitions come in the form of nearly imperceptible camera zooms and slowly blurring environments, and at every turn, theres space to luxuriate in the simple activity of being a kid. The games mechanics are intuitive flick the right stick to kick the ball; hold any trigger to run; press any button to interact; look down to check your watch so you can get home on time and this simplicity helps Quito come alive. Poignant moments of magical surrealism cut through the flow like memories inside of memories, providing glimpses into Corderos future as a teenager and Ecuadors evolution as a country. These scenes appear just enough to provide a sense of tension and context without breaking the immersion of the childhood memories. Panic There isnt much in terms of a moment-to-moment storyline here, but Despelote effortlessly builds a sense of place and self with each new vignette. Its night and Cordero is sitting in the back of the family van, idly listening to his parents conversation and drawing shapes in the window fog. His mom stands in front of the television and tries to pull his attention away from the video game hes playing, exasperated. His younger sister asks him to draw a frog. A grumpy neighbor steals the ball that Cordero and his friends are playing with, so they start kicking around an empty bottle instead. These are the building blocks of Corderos childhood, and while theyre deeply specific, theyre also highly relatable. Despelote is a study in the beauty of mundanity. I havent played many games like Despelote. Im tempted to say Ive never played anything like it, that this is the first true memoir in video game form, but of course thats not entirely accurate. Games like That Dragon, Cancer and Dys4ia offer similar glimpses into their creators lives, and theyre similarly vulnerable and grounded. Theyre also examinations of moments of acute pain and while stories about trauma compose a substantial and valuable portion of the memoir market, theres room for Despelote's slower, lighter reflection in this genre. Despelote is a stellar addition in the category of memoir video games, proving that a thoughtful rumination on one persons childhood can translate into a powerful interactive experience. The key, as always, is authenticity. Panic Cordero breaks the fourth wall at the end of Despelote in a way that feels completely natural. The style of the game changes in an instant and Cordero narrates the scene, talking about how he and co-creator Sebastián Valbuena traveled to Quito to collect Despelotes audio and location data. He discusses the fickle nature of memory and clarifies some of the games timelines. He says he really just wanted to get it right. He wanted players to understand the magic of this moment in Ecuadors history, when soccer was everything, and he was just a kid. I believe he succeeded. Despelote is available now on Steam, PlayStation 4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, published by Panic. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/despelote-review-a-poignant-memoir-masquerading-as-a-soccer-game-124526276.html?src=rss
Category:
Marketing and Advertising
All news |
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||