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Mobile World Congress 2025 has officially kicked off in Barcelona. Google is on the ground previewing two AI features that will begin rolling out to Android devices starting later this month. The first is Live Video, which Google first showed at I/O 2024 last May. The tool takes advantage of Gemini's multi-modal capabilities to allow users to show the chatbot what their phone's camera sees. As you can see from the demo Google shared, Gemini is able to answer a question about mid-century modern decor and offer a suggestion when it comes how to apply that knowledge to pottery. The other new feature, screensharing, works exactly as you would imagine. You can share your screen with Gemini to ask questions about what you see in front of you on a website or app. Google isn't exactly pushing the envelope with either feature. ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode has offered both live video and screensharing since the end of last year, but the nice thing here is you won't need to jump into a separate app to take advantage of Gemini's new capabilities. As mentioned, Google will begin rolling out live video and screensharing to Gemini Advanced subscribers starting later this month. Gemini Advanced is included in the company's $20 per month Google One AI Premium plan. If you're a Verizon customer, the carrier recently added the subscription as a perk for some plans.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gemini-live-video-and-screensharing-arrive-on-android-devices-later-this-month-151743457.html?src=rss
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Apples iPad mini 7 (A17 Pro) from 2024 is currently on sale for $399, a record low for this compact iPad. Its perfect for those who find a full-sized iPad too large for their needs, but make no mistake this tablet can punch above its weight. The iPad mini 7 runs on the same Apple A17 Pro chip found in iPhone 15 Pro series devices. Its not the most powerful chipset available, but its enough for daily tasks, light gaming, reading and streaming content. Apple claims that the iPad mini 7s battery can last 10 hours, but our tests revealed that the number was usually closer to eight, depending on the apps youre running. If you have an Apple Pencil Pro (sold separately), this iPad mini supports it. You can quickly start writing notes with the tap of a button, which calls up a blank document. Its the perfect tool for artists or those who prefer a tablet stylus. Despite the absence of features like Face ID or refresh rates above 60Hz, the iPad mini 7 is a convenient yet powerful device you can bring anywhere. Thats why its on our best iPads list.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/the-ipad-mini-7-is-back-on-sale-for-100-off-143830970.html?src=rss
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Ive been wondering why everyone seems so hyped on Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Its the debut game from Sandfall Interactive, an independent French studio with fewer than 30 employees, and its attracted massive partnerships in video games and film over the past five years. Expedition 33 has a high-profile cast of voice actors, including Andy Serkis, Charlie Cox, Shala Nyx and Jennifer English. It received an Epic MegaGrant in 2022, it was picked up by Pacific Drive publisher Kepler Interactive in 2023, and it was a tentpole of Xboxs first showcase of 2025. Even though the game isnt out until April, Story Kitchen has already signed on to turn it into a live-action film. At the very least, Expedition 33 has seemed like an easy game to fall in love with. After playing just over three hours of Expedition 33, I understand all of it the hype, the quick love and the quiet excitement generated by the games writing, acting, world and mechanics. Expedition 33 is innovative and absolutely stunning. Expedition 33 feels like a prestige drama set in a surreal, slightly gothic 3D landscape. Tonally its drenched in melodrama, and visually its reminiscent of Game of Thrones, but with Belle Époque stylings and mountains of diabolical magic. The realm of Lumire has been consumed by a powerful being called the Paintress she paints a new number on the tower each year and all people of that age instantly die. Shes been counting down for more than half a century, killing the oldest citizens first, and shes just painted the number 33. The people of Lumire send out annual expeditions to stop the Paintress, but so far, theyve all been met with death. The heroes of expedition 33 have one year to live. When we meet Gustave in the preview, things arent going well for expedition 33. His party has been ambushed by a mysterious white-haired man someone so old that he shouldnt be able to exist in this world and Gustave is alone. Gustave has a magical robot arm and a very French moustache, and he sets off through lush forests and dark, wet caves to track down other survivors. He does find some, but only after he nearly kills himself in despair. Lune, a strong-willed and scholarly mage, appears just in time to save Gustave from himself, and together they meet up with Maelle, Gustaves introverted but powerful foster sister. Sandfall Interactive Your party supports six playable characters in the full game, but the preview focuses on these three. The prestige-drama vibes stem from their interactions, and particularly their personality clashes. In one cutscene, Lune and Gustave find themselves sitting around a campfire on a starry night, screaming at each other about the ethics of utilitarianism. Between tirades, Gustave screams, Fuck the mission! Eventually their intensity subsides and the conversation returns to a tentatively amicable space. At the end of the scene, the shot pans to Lune, who smirks and says, Fuck the mission? Really? Gustave sheepishly responds, Sorry. And suddenly, Im deeply invested in the relationship between Lune and Gustave, but also Maelle and all of the friends theyve come to save. It doesnt hurt that these cutscenes are truly gorgeous, with realistic skin textures and dirt smudges in close-up shots, and beautiful performances by all actors. From cutscenes to combat, Expedition 33 is radiant. Sandfall Interactive Environments in the preview grow more surreal as Gustave, Lune and Maelle travel closer to the Paintress, whos hidden herself across deep seas and expansive land masses. They travel through raw areas shattered by magic, boulders hovering in mid-air and ornate buildings haphazardly embedded in odd places, broken and inhospitable. Anthropomorphized rock enemies roam the lands and there are bits of chroma currency, essentially to find, and some upgrades hidden off the linear path. Were not talking Avowed levels of shinies, but a minimal sense of curiosity is definitely rewarded. When exploring, you can swap among party members without breaking stride, and Lune emerged as my clear favorite. Instead of running, Lune speed-hovers a few inches above the ground, and embodying her is like soaring through a dream. Running (or hovering really fast) feels great in the game, and so does the grapple system that flings you across gaps and up buildings. There are also climbable handholds and ropes of light that act as elevators, and all of it works a treat. The games dreamlike feeling only crystallizes in Flying Waters, a region that looks and behaves as if its at the bottom of the ocean bubbles, shipwrecks, whales and all but without a drop of water to be found. You breathe, walk, run and jump as normal here, but there are schools of fish swimming through the air and the waterline is visible high above you. Its wonderfully trippy. I could spend the rest of this preview just gushing about Expedition 33s fabulous environments, characters and enemies, or its top-notch writing, music and graphics but lets talk combat. Sandfall Interactive Expedition 33 is a turn-based game with clear JRPG influences, but it adds a twist to the traditional battle system: quick-time prompts. Your party members have the ability to use an item, deploy a specific skill, or plain-old attack, plus they have a Free Aim move that can snipe enemy weak points before a full strike. There are elemental weapons to equip and upgrade, and each character runs on a distinct battle mechanic. Gustave has an overcharge system that powers up his robot arm for a special move, Lune uses elemental stains to stack specific damge, and Maelle switches among three fencing stances. Balancing healing, buffs, defensive moves and attacks is a delicate dance in Expedition 33, and the preview really started to sing once I had all three members nicely leveled up, kitted out and slinging various types of elemental damage. Unlike traditional turn-based play, there are real-time prompts embedded in your skill attacks, and executing these delivers bonus damage and effects. The Final Fantasy series has toyed with this idea to mixed success, but in Expedition 33 its a critical, finely tuned system, and I love the tension it creates. Quick-time elements infuse the familiar turn-based loop with a twitchy kind of clarity, adding a few extra dopamine hits to the classic press-and-wait rhythm. Each QTE prompt is tricky without being punishing, and its not just offensive moves that get the real-time treatment. Dodging, parrying and jumping are essential skills in Expedition 33, and these mechanics demand your attention with every enemy turn. In short, no, you wont be able to set the controller down during combat in Expedition 33. And, yes, Im totally here for it. Sandfall Interactive Maybe its because each character strikes a dramatic pose whenever its their turn, but combat has a distinct Persona flair (and this is a great thing in my book). Meanwhile, the games soundtrack has echoes of Nier: Automata and Tetris: Effect, and altogether, even boss battles can be a bit of an emotional experience. In the interest of keeping this preview under 3,000 words, Im not going to get into the specifics of upgrade trees and resource types, but I will say that I found these systems to be purposeful and responsive. I was pleased with how often my party leveled up, there were ample traits to tweak for each character, and the effects of my stat manipulation were immediately apparent in combat. Rest assured, Expedition 33 is an RPG. Though this is just based on a preview, Expedition 33 seems incredibly polished. Not only does it play seamlessly on a macro level, but it also gets the smallest details right, including voice-acted memories, haptic feedback that kicks in when a grapple point is in range, an opaque text box thats both readable and seamlessly integrated into every scene, and the ability to put a rose in Gustaves hair, even in cutscenes. The entire preview is impressive. Sandfall Interactive That said, I wonder whether Expedition 33 is too impressive, technically speaking. I played the preview at a stable 1080p/60 on a gaming PC with an RTX 4070 Super, and I didnt encounter any issues, but locking to 60 fps at 1440p was beyond my setup. This feels like a game thats going to break a lot of hearts and PC parts. And its not just PC Im curious to see how Expedition 33 will run on any console that isnt a PlayStation 5 Pro. But, thats a consideration for review time. The preview for Expedition 33 illuminates why Sandfall Interactive has received so much pre-launch attention and support. Expedition 33 is composed of beautiful contradictions: Its a JRPG but it comes from a Western studio. Its a fantasy RPG built outside the restrictions of Dungeons & Dragons rulesets. Is an indie game that looks, sounds and feels AAA. Most of all, Expedition 33 is refreshing. Expedition 33 is due to hit PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on April 24. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/clair-obscur-expedition-33-preview-stunning-visuals-innovative-combat-prime-melodrama-140052194.html?src=rss
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