Time (and perhaps a large check or two) heals all wounds. Amazon and the longtime producers and custodians of the James Bond movies have finally agreed on a way forward for the series. Amazon MGM Studios will form a joint venture with Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli that will hold the intellectual property rights and ensure they remain co-owners of the franchise. However, Wilson and Broccoli will be stepping back to focus on other projects, with Amazon gaining full creative control.
The company bought MGM in 2022 for $8.45 billion to get its hands on a renowned film studio with a vast library of film and TV episodes. Co-ownership of the Bond series was a big part of that. However, production of Bond movies had been on hold amid reports of a power struggle between Amazon and Broccoli, who is said to have felt that an ecommerce giant was not the right fit for her family's franchise (she inherited the series from her father, Albert Cubby Broccoli, who died in 1996).
Until now, Broccoli and her half-brother Wilson had retained creative control. She and her family have been very protective of the series and its legacy. Broccoli reportedly rebuffed most of Amazon's attempts to develop spinoffs, save for the reality competition series 007: Road to a Million. But that's about to change with Amazon seemingly eager to propel the series forward before Ian Fleming's Bond novels fully enter the public domain in a decade allowing anyone to publish their own adaptations of them.
"My life has been dedicated to maintaining and building upon the extraordinary legacy that was handed to Michael and me by our father, producer Cubby Broccoli," Broccoli said in a statement. "I have had the honor of working closely with four of the tremendously talented actors who have played 007 and thousands of wonderful artists within the industry. With the conclusion of No Time to Die and Michael retiring from the films, I feel it is time to focus on my other projects.
On one hand, the series will be exiting the limbo it's been in since Daniel Craig stepped away from the role after 2021's No Time To Die. We might finally learn who the next James Bond is in the near future. On the other, there's no telling how Amazon might dilute the prestige quality of the franchise with spinoffs and more projects like the game show Brian Cox didn't realize he was signing up to host.
The movies have a tradition of product placement from luxury brands, and we could see Amazon replacing the likes of LG monitors with, say, Echo Show displays. And if ever there was an opportunity for Amazon to create and market its own smartwatch...This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/amazon-will-take-full-creative-control-of-the-james-bond-franchise-174255959.html?src=rss
The Pokémon Company is hosting a morning livestream on February 27 at 9AM ET to share the "latest news and updates" from Pikachu and pals. You can stream it via the official YouTube channel. This is the yearly Pokémon Presents event that typically provides info on whats coming to empty our wallets throughout the year (and beyond.)
So what can we expect this year? Both The Pokémon Company and Nintendo remain tight-lipped, but we can make some educated guesses. Pokemon Legends: Z-A, the follow-up to the open-world Pokémon Legends: Arceus, was announced in early 2024. Its high time we got some more details on the upcoming game.
The title was originally advertised as a Switch exclusive, but now that the Switch 2 is on our radar, maybe itll be a dual-release or something. We could get that information, along with an announcement regarding the games trio of starter Pokémon.
Theres a new Pokémon TGC set arriving in May. Its called Destined Rivals, so we can expect a detailed look at this update. We might even get a tease for another set down the line. Pokémon cards, both digital and physical, are still very much a big deal. To that end, we could get details regarding new features for TGC Pocket.
Pokémon GO's next season starts on March 4, which is just a few days after the stream. Well most definitely get a trailer for that, along with some updates on any new features. Beyond that, its a guessing game. Hope springs eternal that well finally get those remakes of Pokémon Black and White. In any event, February 27 is right around the corner.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/theres-a-pokemon-presents-livestream-scheduled-for-february-27-171813096.html?src=rss
In a powerful reimagining of historically exploitative industries, Memphis-based coffee company Cxffeeblack and sustainable textile brand COMOCO Cotton have joined forces to create a limited-edition t-shirt that transforms cotton and coffee into vehicles for Black economic empowerment. The God Don't Make No Junk t-shirt combines COMOCO's cotton, grown by Black farmers, with natural dyes made from Cxffeeblack's Ethiopian-sourced Guji Mane coffee.The partnership brings together two organizations working to reshape their respective industries from the ground up. COMOCO Cotton operates within a 150-mile radius for its entire production process, from farm to finished garment, boosting the local economy while drastically reducing energy consumption. Meanwhile, Cxffeeblack established the first entirely Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Tennessee and runs educational initiatives like a barista exchange program between Africa and the United States."Cotton and coffee built global economies on Black labor. It's time for them to build Black futures," says Stephen Satterfield, founder of COMOCO Cotton and host of Netflix's High on the Hog. The project aims to demonstrate how Black creatives can reclaim supply chains and reshape industries through ownership and cultural autonomy. The t-shirts are available for preorder now and are priced at USD 85, which includes a small bag of Guji Mane coffee and a free download of the Cxffee Makes You Black album.
The Google Pixel 8a mid-tier smartphone is back on sale for $399 via Amazon. This is close to a record-low price and represents a discount of 20 percent. Even better? The sale applies to multiple colorways, including mint green, light blue and white. This deal is for the 128GB model.
This device topped our list of the best mid-range smartphones, and with good reason. Its a well-designed phone that gets the job done. It features a powerful Tensor G3 chip, offers support for Google Gemini AI tools and includes an excellent camera system. The 120Hz OLED display is gorgeous and the battery life is on point.
We called the Pixel 8a one of the best values of any phone on sale today in our official review, and that was at the original $499 asking price. Its especially well-valued with todays sale. We even enjoyed gaming with this device, which isnt always the case with mid-range phones. The 8a also comes with IP67 dust and water resistance and 7.5-watt Qi wireless charging.
There arent any major downsides to this phone, though we do have a couple of nitpicks. The wireless charging, while convenient, is pretty slow. The display bezels are also on the thicker side, so you lose some precious screen real estate. Other than that, this is a near-perfect mid-range phone. Its also a full $200 cheaper than Apples just-announced budget smartphone, the iPhone 16e.
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/googles-pixel-8a-drops-to-399-at-amazon-163059224.html?src=rss
While there's a new iPhone that's surely soaking up the attention of many Apple fans, it's often worth keeping an eye on the company's other products as you might find a decent deal. If you've been on the lookout for a discount on the latest Mac mini, you're in luck. The M4 Mac mini is back on sale as it has dropped to $549.
The deal is for the base model with 16GB of unified memory and 256GB of SSD storage. It's not the lowest price we've seen for this Mac mini it was $100 off during the Black Friday period. But with a $50 discount, this is the best price we've seen so far this year.
If you'd like more built-in storage, you might want to opt for a configuration with a 512GB SSD. That'll currently run you $719, which is $80 off the regular price. However, it's worth bearing in mind that you can connect an external SSD to your Mac mini if Apple's internal storage upgrade prices are too pricey for you to justify.
We gave the Mac mini (albeit one equipped with a more powerful M4 Pro chipset) a score of 90 in our review. That said, the base M4 model should be zippy enough for most people's needs. For instance, those who like to play games on Mac should find that the GPU is fast enough to support 60 fps gameplay at a resolution of 1080p on many titles.
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/apples-m4-mac-mini-is-back-on-sale-for-549-161512511.html?src=rss
On the Friday after Christmas, OpenAI published a blog post titled "Why OpenAI's structure must evolve to advance our mission." In it, the company detailed a plan to reorganize its for-profit arm into a public benefit corporation (PBC). In the weeks since that announcement, I've spoken to some of the country's leading corporate law experts to gain a better understanding of OpenAI's plan, and, more importantly, what it might mean for its mission to build safe artificial general intelligence (AGI).
What is a public benefit corporation?
"Public benefit corporations are a relatively recent addition to the universe of business entity types," says Jens Dammann, professor of corporate law at the University of Texas School of Law. Depending on who you ask, you may get a different history of PBCs, but in the dominant narrative, they came out of a certification program created by a nonprofit called B Lab. Companies that complete a self-assessment and pay an annual fee to B Lab can carry the B Lab logo on their products and websites and call themselves B-Corps. Critically, B Corp status isn't a designation with the weight of law, or even an industry-wide group, behind it it's a stamp of approval from this specific nonprofit.
As a result, B Lab eventually felt the certification program "was not enough," says Professor Michael Dorff, executive director of the Lowell Milken Institute for Business Law and Policy at UCLA. "They wanted something more permanent and more rooted in the law." So the organization began working with legal experts to create a model statute for what would become the benefit corporation. B Lab lobbied state legislatures to pass laws recognizing benefit corporations as legal entities, and in 2010, Maryland became the first state to do so. In 2013, Delaware enacted its own version of the law. To make things somewhat confusing, the state went with a different name: the public benefit corporation.
Delaware is arguably the most important state for corporate law in the US, thanks to the Delaware Chancery Court and its body of business-friendly case law. As of 2022, 68.2 percent of all Fortune 500 companies, including many tech giants, are incorporated in the state despite largely operating elsewhere. Delaware is also the state where OpenAI plans to reincorporate its for-profit as a PBC.
The basic idea behind public benefit corporations is that they're business entities that impose a constraint on their board to balance profit maximization, a public benefit that's stated in the charter of the company, and the concerns of people impacted by its conduct.
"It's a bit of a paradigm shift," says Professor Dammann, but don't confuse a PBC with a nonprofit. "The key characteristic of a nonprofit is what we call a non-distribution constraint, meaning if a nonprofit makes a profit, they can't distribute it to their shareholders," Professor Dammann says. "If you form a public benefit corporation, there's no such non-distribution constraint. At its heart, a PBC is still a for-profit corporation."
Why is OpenAI pursuing a PBC structure?
First and foremost, a PBC structure whether it's private or selling share on the open market would get OpenAI out from under that non-distribution constraint. But there are likely some other considerations at play.
OpenAI hasn't publicly said this, but it appears some of its employees believe a PBC structure could protect the company from a hostile takeover if it were to go public. In a recent Financial Times report, a source within the company said a PBC structure would give OpenAI a "safe harbor" if a rival firm were to try to buy the company. It "gives you even more flexibility to say 'thanks for calling and have a nice day'," the person said.
The specific threat OpenAI likely wants safe harbor from is what's known as the Revlon doctrine, which is named after a 1986 Delaware Supreme Court case involving the cosmetics company Revlon Inc. and now defunct supermarket chain Pantry Pride, then led by CEO Ronald Perelman. "The Revlon doctrine holds that if you're a publicly traded corporation [incorporated in Delaware] and somebody stages a takeover attempt, then under certain conditions, you have to sell to the highest bidder," says Professor Dammann.
The underlying rationale behind Revlon is that a for-profit companys sole function is to generate profits, so the board is forced to make whatever choice will return the most money to shareholders.
"We don't know for sure, but we're fairly confident that the Revlon doctrine doesn't apply to public benefit corporations," says Professor Dammann. Theoretically, PBC boards may have the flexibility to reject a takeover bid if they believe a buyer won't adhere to the social values the company was founded on. However, because "none of this has been litigated," according to Professor Dorff, it remains a purely hypothetical defense.
Moreover, it's unclear if reorganizing as a PBC would offer OpenAI more protection against a hostile takeover attempt than what it already has as a nonprofit. "I don't think this has been tested with this particular kind of structure, but my sense is that the nonprofit would not be obligated to sell even in a Revlon moment," says Professor Dorff.
"We need to raise more capital"
OpenAI
Publicly, OpenAI has said it needs to secure more investment, and that its current structure is holding it back. "We once again need to raise more capital than we'd imagined," OpenAI wrote in December, two months after securing $6 billion in new venture funding. "Investors want to back us but, at this scale of capital, need conventional equity and less structural bespokeness."
Unpacking what the company likely means by "structural bespokeness" requires a short history lesson. In 2019, when OpenAI originally created its for-profit arm, it organized the company using a unique "capped-profit" structure. The company said it would limit investor returns to 100x, with excess returns going to the nonprofit. "We expect this multiple to be lower for future rounds as we make further progress," OpenAI added.
It's fair to be critical of the company's claims. "You'd have to ask the investors, but I have to say that 100x is an exceptional rate or return, so the idea that you cannot get investment because of a 100x cap seems ric to me," says Professor Dorff. In fact, there are suggestions OpenAI was already making itself more attractive to investors before announcing its reorganization plan in December. In 2023, The Economist reported that the company changed its cap to increase (and not decrease as OpenAI had originally said it would) by 20 percent per year starting in 2025. At this time, OpenAI does not expect to be profitable until 2029, and racked up about $5 billion in losses last year.
"We want to increase our ability to raise capital while still serving our mission, and no pre-existing structure we know of strikes the right balance," OpenAI said in 2019. At that point, Delaware's PBC legislation had been law for nearly six years. However, the company is now arguing that a PBC structure would "enable us to raise the necessary capital with conventional terms like others in this space."
In OpenAI's defense, calling its current structure convoluted would be an understatement. As you can see from the company's own org chart, there are two other entities under the OpenAI umbrella, including a holding company that's an intermediary between the nonprofit and for-profit. Engadget was able to find at least 11 different Delaware companies registered to OpenAI. George R.R. Martin, Jodi Picoult and other members of the Author's Guild probably described it best in their copyright lawsuit against the company, calling OpenAI "a tangled thicket of interlocking entities that generally keep from the public what the precise relationships among them are and what function each entity serves within the larger corporate structure."
OpenAI did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Engadget.
"A stronger nonprofit supported by the for-profits success"
Reuters
OpenAI's nonprofit arm does essentially two things: controls the for-profit side's business, and exists as a "vehicle" to develop "safe and broadly beneficial AGI" (artificial general intelligence).
According to the company, its current structure does not allow its nonprofit arm to "easily do more than control the for-profit." If it were freed of that responsibility by say, handing it off to investors OpenAI suggests its nonprofit could focus its resources on charitable initiatives, all while becoming "one of the best-resourced nonprofits in history."
To remedy the situation, OpenAI's board says the nonprofit should give up absolute control over the for-profit and take whatever degree of control comes with the amount of stock it's granted through the reorganization process. "The nonprofit's significant interest in the existing for-profit would take the form of shares in the PBC at a fair valuation determined by independent financial advisors," OpenAI says of this part of its plan.
Professor Dorff argues who controls OpenAI is critical to the company maintaining its mission. The move to reorganize the for-profit as a PBC is not controversial. "Companies do it all the time; theres a straightforward and clear process to do that," he tells me. "What is controversial is what they're trying to do to change the nature of the nonprofit's ownership interest in the for-profit."
At the risk of oversimplifying things, OpenAI's board of directors wants to divest the company's nonprofit of two of its most important assets: control of the for-profit and its rights to the profits from AGI. "You can't just do that," says Professor Dorff. "The assets of the nonprofit must remain dedicated to the purpose of the nonprofit." There are rules that allow nonprofits to modify their purpose if their original one is made defunct, but those won't apply to OpenAI since we're not living in a world with safe (or any) AGI.
Think of it this way, what is the value of artificial general intelligence? It's not a traditional asset like real estate or the EVs sold by Tesla. AGI, as defined by OpenAI, doesn't yet and may never exist. "One could imagine it's worth all the labor of the economy because it could eventually replace human labor," says Professor Dorff. Whatever the eventual value of the technology, Professor Dorff says he's unsure "any number would enable the nonprofit to do what it's supposed to do without control."
No matter how OpenAI spins it, any version of this plan would result in a massive loss of control for the current nonprofit entity and its board.
One more thing
Something the experts I spoke to agreed on was that the laws governing PBCs aren't very effective at ensuring companies stick to their social purpose. "The legal constraints aren't very strict," Professor Dammann says, adding, "the problem with a very broad public benefit is that it's not so constraining anymore. If you're dedicated to a very broad version of the public good, then you can always defend every decision, right?"
"The dual goal of profit and public purpose doesn't really tell you how a company is going to manage those objectives," says Jill Fisch, professor of Business Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. "To the extent that public purpose sacrifices profits, and it doesn't have to, but to the extent that it does, how much of a sacrifice is contemplated?"
"What matters a lot in PBC governance is what the private arrangements are," Professor Dorff adds. "That is, what do the documents say?" A company's certificate of incorporation, shareholder agreements and bylaws can provide "very robust" (or very few) mechanisms to ensure it sticks to its social purpose. As Professor Dorff points out, OpenAI's blog post said "nothing about those."
Contrast that with when OpenAI announced its "capped profit" plan. It gave us a glimpse of some of its paperwork, sharing a clause it said was at the start of al of its employee and investor agreements. That snippet made it clear OpenAI was under no obligation to generate a profit. Right now, there's a lot we don't know about its restructuring plan. If the company is still serious about its mission of "ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity" it owes the public more transparency.
What happens next?
Reuters
Elon Musk's recent $97.4 billion bid to buy the nonprofit's assets complicates OpenAI's plan. In this situation, the nonprofit isn't obligated to sell its assets to Musk under Revlon or anything else the company simply is not for sale. However, as part of OpenAI's reorganization plan, the for-profit will need to compensate the nonprofit for its independence. Musk's bid likely an attempt to inflate the price of this transaction to one higher than what Sam Altman and the rest of OpenAI's board of directors had in mind. To say Musk and Altman have had a contentious relationship since the former left OpenAI would be an understatement on a grand scale, and having an enemy who not only has the most money of any human on the planet, but also broad and largely unchecked control of the United States' executive branch data, may frustrate plans.
OpenAI also faces a ticking clock. According to documents seen by The New York Times, the company has, under the terms of its latest investment round, less than two years to free its for-profit from control of the nonprofit. If it fails to do so, the $6.6 billion it raised in new funding will become debt.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/why-openai-is-trying-to-untangle-its-bespoke-corporate-structure-160028589.html?src=rss
Twitch is putting a cap on how much storage a streamer can take up for their uploads and highlight videos. The streaming service has announced that starting on April 19, all uploads and highlights will count towards a new 100-hour storage limit for each streamer, whether the videos are published or not. To note, the cap doesn't apply to past broadcasts, which are previous livestreams saved to a streamer's account for on-demand viewing, or clips, which are minute-long segments that can be shared to social networks. Highlights can be longer than clips and can be made of several key moments from a video, which means they could take up more storage space.
The service explained that it originally launched highlights to drive discovery and engagement for streamers, but the feature apparently hasn't been as effective clips and the mobile discovery feed. Storage is costly, and limiting highlights and uploads will allow the service to support the videos users want to keep on their accounts while also investing in improvements for features like Clips and mobile feed.
Twitch said less than 0.5 percent of active streamers has gone over the 100-hour limit, and those who have will be notified directly. To make it easier for streamers to choose which videos they want to keep, Twitch has rolled out filters for Video Producer that will allow them to sort their content based on length, view count and date created. The service will be deleting videos for users that go beyond the 100-hour cap on April 19 and will be limiting uploads and highlights going forward. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/twitch-streamers-uploads-and-highlights-can-no-longer-exceed-100-hours-143018464.html?src=rss
If theres one downside to the sheer number of security cameras Ring makes, its the sheer darn volume of them. Joining the mob today is the Outdoor Cam Plus, packing a new high-quality lens and 2K imaging sensor promising a clear, colorful view even in near dark conditions. Its clad in a weather-resistant body and can run from mains power, via a rechargeable battery or with one of Rings custom solar panels. The company adds the Plus is just as comfortable working indoors as out in the open, and ships with a new mount that will even hold the camera in place on ceilings.
Unfortunately you might have to spend some time poring through the specs to work out where this one will sit in Rings camera firmament. After all, theres already the Stick Up Cam, Stick Up Cam Pro and Stick Up Cam Elite available to buy in the US, and that's before you get to the models with built-in floodlights. Not to mention the Stick Up Cam Pro, with 3D motion detection and Birds Eye Zones, is arguably a better product than the Elite which costs almost a hundred dollars more. Perhaps its time for Ring to trim down the excesses in its line up to make everything a lot cleaner for consumers.
Rings new Outdoor Cam Plus is available for pre-order today from Ring and Amazon for $100 and is shipping on March 26.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/smart-home/ring-beefs-up-the-image-quality-on-its-new-outdoor-cam-plus-140049128.html?src=rss
Lenovo has already teased the second-gen version of its flagship gaming handheld. But that wont be out until much later this year, so in the meantime, its come out with the Legion Go S, a slightly sturdier and more portable way to frag while youre out and about. Now the tricky thing about this device is that it will be available in a bunch of different configurations including one that comes pre-installed with SteamOS a first for any portable PC not made by Valve. Frankly, thats the version were most interested in. However, the one running Windows 11 is out now, so its a good time to get familiar with it and see if its worth the money or if you should just wait for the variant that comes with Valves OS instead.
Design and display: A mid-cycle streamlining
Regardless of what platform theyre based on, both models feature the same design with the only difference being that the Windows 11 version comes in white while the SteamOS variant features a dark purple shell. However, unlike the original Legion Go, the Go S doesnt have detachable controllers. But aside from that, many of the highlight features from its predecessor are still there. It sports a 1,920 x 1,200 display with a 120Hz refresh rate. At 8 inches, thats larger than most handhelds, though it is a slight downgrade from the 8.8-inch panel on its predecessor. You also get joysticks with precise Hall effect sensors, an assortment of face and shoulder buttons, dual USB 4 ports (which both support power and data), 3.5mm audio and a microSD card reader.
Another small tweak is that instead of four paddles in back, you only get two, with Lenovo trading out the second pair for a set of toggle switches that let you adjust how deep you want the handhelds triggers to go. Its a nice touch for people who enjoy things like racing games where a bit of extra analog sensitivity can go a long way, but still want the freedom to have a shorter pull when playing stuff like fighting games, where longer triggers hurt more than they help. And while the touchpad on the Legion Go S is much smaller than the one on the original, Im really glad Lenovo didnt axe it altogether as it makes navigating through settings and menus in Windows so much easier than relying strictly on the joysticks or touch support.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
The one feature I wish Lenovo had included is an onboard fingerprint sensor. Without it, you need to use a PIN or password to get into Windows 11. On a system without a keyboard, that means every time you pick up the system, you have to shift your hands away from the joysticks and tap the middle of the touchscreen, because the tiny touchpad doesnt even work for this. Frankly, its just kind of awkward and could have been avoided entirely if Lenovo had opted for a power button with a built-in finger scanner like many of the Legion Gos rivals including the ROG Ally X and the MSI Claw 8 AI+. Finally, while the Go S does have a built-in rumble motor, the vibrations it puts out are hilariously one-note, especially when its set to buzz anytime you use the touchpad. So I ended up turning it off entirely.
Performance: Not as fast as you might expect
The Legion Go S will eventually support a handful of processors and configurations, but right now it comes with an AMD Ryzen Z2 Go chip along with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. And if youre comparing it to its predecessor, you might think this thing would offer better performance. After all, the original Legion Go has less RAM and an older Ryzen Z1 Extreme APU, and two is higher than one, right? Well not so fast, because the Z1 Extreme features a base clock of 3.3GHz with eight cores and 16 threads compared to the Z2 Gos base clock of 3GHz with just four cores and eight threads. Furthermore, the older Z1 Extreme also has a GPU based on AMDs newer RDNA 3 architecture compared to RDNA 2 for the Z2 Go. So in actuality, the Legion Go S with this chip is about 10 to 15 percent less powerful than the model that came before it.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
This becomes a lot more obvious when looking at benchmarks where the Legion Go S delivered 45 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 at 800p and medium settings with FSR upscaling set to performance, while the original Legion Go hit 51 fps with both systems set to the same 15-watt performance mode. Meanwhile in Returnal, we saw a similar pattern with the Go S reaching 23 fps on medium graphics at 800p compared to 34 fps for the older Legion Go, once again with both devices set to 15 watts.
Seeing poorer performance on the new model might set off alarms for some people, but before anyone panics, consider this: The Legion Go S is supposed to be a more streamlined and affordable take on the original, so in some respects not being able to achieve the same or higher framerates is to be expected. To me, the real issue is that 32GB of RAM is sort of overkill for this chip, which means youre paying more for memory that cant be fully utilized. And remember, while the Go S launch config comes with a Z2 Go, there are other versions that are expected to get a Z1 Extreme and possibly a vanilla Z2 at some point in the future.
Of course, if you want higher framerates, you can always adjust how much power youre sending to its processor. Lenovos default balanced setting uses 15 watts, while performance mode pumps things up to 30. But if you want more precise control, the custom mode can go from as little as 5 watts all the way up to 40, though youll want or need to be plugged into the wall to utilize its full TDP (thermal design power).
Battery life: Good enough
Naturally, whatever performance mode you choose will ultimately impact your battery life. I found that when playing Metal Slug Tactics using the 15-watt balanced setting, the Legion Go S lasted for around two and a half hours, which is pretty solid. When playing more demanding titles, longevity wasnt quite as good, with runtimes closer to an hour and a half. Though, with the Go S feauring a 55.5WHr battery compared to something like the 80WHr pack in the ROG Ally X, that kind of discrepancy isnt entirely unexpected.
Software: Better, but still clunky
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Lenovo has done a lot to improve the Legion Space app since it came out a couple years ago. Not only is it much better as a general place to launch games from, its a lot easier to adjust settings or download new drivers or software updates. Even the UI is more spacious and intuitive. However, at the end of the day, the handoff between Legion Space and the rest of Windows 11 still feels awkward. Depending on what youre trying to tweak, you have to jump between menus from Lenovo and Microsoft while switching between joystick and touchpad to navigate. I also noticed some bugs like when trying to install Steam from the Legion Space app. It failed every time, which meant I had to download the app directly from Valve and do things manually. In a lot of respects, this is where Windows-based handhelds lag behind the most, so its a shame itll be another few months before the SteamOS model goes on sale sometime in May.
Wrap-up
The Legion Go S has all the makings of a solid portable gaming PC. Its got a straightforward design with good ergonomics, Hall effect joysticks and a sensible button layout. Lenovo also includes some nice perks like dual USB-C ports, a decent-sized battery and a handy little touchpad for navigating Windows. I just wish there was a built-in fingerprint scanner too. And while its 8-inch OLED display is a touch smaller than the one on its predecessor, theres not much to dislike about it. You even get more storage (1TB) than a base Legion Go (512GB).
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
The hard thing to come to terms with is that right now a Legion Go S costs $730 for worse performance, no detachable controllers and the lack of bonuses like an included carrying case or vertical mouse functionality like on the original Legion Go, which can be had for $30 less ($700). Normally, that would be a death sentence for a new system because that value proposition simply doesnt make sense.
But in this case, the issue is that Lenovo hasnt fully rolled out all of its variations. I still think 32GB of RAM on this device is excessive; not even the ROG Ally X has that much. But more importantly, the Legion Go S other configs arent available yet. So even if you arent holding out for the SteamOS variant, youd be silly not to wait for less expensive versions to come out with starting prices closer to $600 (or even $500 for the one with Valves platform), which will instantly make this handheld a lot more attractive.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/lenovo-legion-go-s-review-windows-version-not-so-fast-140002828.html?src=rss
Shortly after introducing subject tracking with its latest smartphone gimbal, DJI has done the same with its new lightweight camera gimbal. The RS4 Mini is now available with DJI's RS Intelligent Tracking Module to keep a human subject in frame and also offers the latest features from its flagship RS4 gimbals like auto-axis locks and 4th-gen stabilization.
The RS4 Mini is a major redesign from the previous RS3 Mini and is slightly heavier (2 pounds compared to 1.8 pounds) to accommodate some of the new features. It boasts the same 4.4 pound payload as before, meaning it can carry nearly every mirrorless camera on the market and many lightweight cinema cameras to boot.
DJI
An important new feature for ease of use is the addition of automatic axis locks absent on the previous model. And in fact, the RS4 Mini is the first of DJI's gimbals to use 2nd-Gen axis lock tech that can unlock the gimbal in just one second. It also has DJI's 3rd-Gen Native Vertical Switch that that offers the fastest switch experience to date in the RS series. Another new addition is Teflon interlayers and a fine tuning knob that allows "more precise millimeter balancing" when installing a camera. DJI also introduced a new Responsive mode (alongside the regular Smooth mode) that allows the gimbal to react better to fast hand movements.
DJI
For solo vloggers, the coolest new feature is the DJI RS Intelligent Tracking Module (included in the RS 4 Mini Combo), that's much like the "Multifunctional Module" on the Osmo Mobile 7P gimbal, minus the fill light. When attached to the gimbal, the tiny device enables ActiveTrack on any phone or camera, keeping a human subject in frame within 33 feet. Tracking can be enabled with a pull of the trigger or an open palm visual command.
The RS 4 Mini also has DJI's latest 4th-Gen Stabilization that strikes a better balance between stabilization strength and tactile feel, promising an "enhanced user experience" and improved stability for vertical shooting. Other improvements include 30 percent better battery life (now up to 13 hours) and charging speeds, a next-gen RS Briefcase Handle and a quick-release magnetic mount. The RS4 Mini is now available for $369 by itself or $459 in the Combo package, which includes the RS Intelligent Tracking Module and RS Briefcase Handle.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cameras/djis-rs4-mini-stabilizer-can-now-track-subjects-automatically-134045771.html?src=rss
