Apple has determined that "a very small percentage" of iPhone 14 Plus models are having rear camera issues, and it has launched a service program to repair them for free. If your phone isn't showing a preview when you use its rear camera, then you may be eligible to get your phone fixed at no cost you can also contact Apple to get a refund if you'd already paid for a repair. The affected devices were manufactured between April 10, 2023 and April 28, 2024, around half a year after the model started shipping in 2022.
You can check your device's serial number on the official repair program page to know if your device is included. To get it fixed, you can bring your phone to an Apple Authorized Service Provider or to an Apple retail store after making an appointment. You can also contact Apple Support if you want to mail your device to a repair center. The program covers repairs for all eligible phones for three years after the original date of purchase, so you may want to keep it in mind in case your unit starts exhibiting the issue in the future. Apple says it may "restrict or limit repair" to the unit's original region of purchase, though, so you'll have to check with the company if you bought your iPhone while traveling outside your country.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/new-apple-repair-program-will-fix-iphone-14-plus-rear-camera-issue-for-free-110051988.html?src=rss
If youre wondering what happened to Amazons new and improved version of its Alexa voice assistant, youre not alone. Bloomberg reports that the new Alexa is still stuck in its developmental phase and Amazon has cut off access to its beta phase including its new Lets Chat phase. As a result, a planned late 2024 launch has been pushed back to next year.
The problem seems to be with its large language models (LLMs). The new Alexa is designed to understand more complicated questions from users but its also more likely to fail doing some of the most basic things the old version could do quite easily like create a timer or operate smart lights, according to a follow up report from The Verge.
Amazon originally planned to unveil its new version of Alexa AI in October but now the timeline has been extended into next year. (As you might have noticed, October has come and gone.) The original timeline planned to premiere the next evolutionary step in Alexas advancement on October 17 but Amazon decided to pivot and used the date to show off its new line of Kindle ereaders. Then in August, news surfaced that the new Alexa would be powered by Anthropics Claude AI and come with a monthly subscription fee.
As ChatGPT began to rise in popularity in the summer of 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wanted to see if Alexa could compete if it had an AI upgrade. Jassy reportedly started peppering Alexa with sports questions like an ESPN reporter at a playoff press conference and its answers were nowhere near perfect. It even made up a recent game score for Jassy.
Despite this, Alexa passed the good enough stage and Jassy and his fellow executives felt their engineers could build a beta version by the early part of 2024. Unfortunately, Amazon wasnt able to meet its deadline.
Even with the new deadline, the new Alexa still has a long way to go to fix its problems. Some employees told Bloomberg that the problem outside of Alexas innerworkings is with Amazons overstuffed management and a lack of a compelling vision for an AI-powered Alexa. .This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-reportedly-bumped-back-its-ai-powered-alexa-to-next-year-215041138.html?src=rss
Disney is adding another layer to its AI and extended reality strategies. As first reported by Reuters, the company recently formed a dedicated emerging technologies unit. Dubbed the Office of Technology Enablement, the group will coordinate the companys exploration, adoption and use of artificial intelligence, AR and VR tech.
It has tapped Jamie Voris, previously the CTO of its Studios Technology division, to oversee the effort. Before joining Disney in 2010, Voris was the chief technology officer at the National Football League. More recently, he led the development of the companys Apple Vision Pro app. Voris will report to Alan Bergman, the co-chairman of Disney Entertainment. Reuters reports the company eventually plans to grow the group to about 100 employees.
The pace and scope of advances in AI and XR are profound and will continue to impact consumer experiences, creative endeavors, and our business for years to come making it critical that Disney explore the exciting opportunities and navigate the potential risks, Bergman wrote in an email Disney shared with Engadget. The creation of this new group underscores our dedication to doing that and to being a positive force in shaping responsible use and best practices.
A Disney spokesperson told Engadget the Office of Technology Enablement wont take over any existing AI and XR projects at the company. Instead, it will support Disneys other teams, many of which are already working on products that involve those technologies, to ensure their work fits into the companys broader strategic goals.
It is about bringing added focus, alignment, and velocity to those efforts, and about reinforcing our commitment being a positive force in shaping responsible use and best practices, the spokesperson said.
Its safe to say Disney has probably navigated the last two decades of technological change better than most of Hollywood. For instance, the companys use of the Unreal Engine in conjunction with a digital set known as The Volume has streamlined the production of VFX-heavy shows like The Mandalorian. With extended reality and AI in particular promising tidal changes to how humans work and play, it makes sense to add some additional oversight to how those technologies are used at the company.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/disney-forms-dedicated-ai-and-xr-group-to-coordinate-company-wide-use-and-adoption-205011787.html?src=rss
One of fantasy and sci-fis all-time greats has passed away. Artist Greg Hildebrandt, known for his iconic work on Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel and Magic: The Gathering, died on Thursday at 85. He and his twin brother Tim, who died in 2006, were a powerhouse duo the Brothers Hildebrandt until they decided to pursue solo careers in 1981.
The duo was perhaps best known for their Style B poster (above) for the original Star Wars in 1977. Released in the UK (Tom Jungs Style A was the original US poster), the art shows Luke Skywalker heroically hoisting his lightsaber high above his head like King Arthur wielded Excalibur. Hes flanked by a blaster-toting Princess Leia, with C-3PO and R2-D2 looking on from behind. Darth Vaders imposing mask peers down on them in the background among a sea of stars, the Death Star and starfighters.
As for Luke and Leias noteworthy lack of resemblance to Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, neither the Brothers Hildebrandt nor Jung had access to the actors photos. So, they made do with generic hero images that could have been ripped from 1970s fantasy book covers. (Still rad, if not screen-accurate.) The Hildebrandt poster was used in the UK until January 1978, when it was replaced by Tom Chantrells Style C poster, which depicted the actual cast.
Greg Hildebrandt / X
The brothers were also strongly associated with a series of The Lord of the Rings calendars. Decades before Peter Jackson brought the films to live action (and even before the 1978 animated version), their art which drew on their influence from classic Disney films was the most prominent visualization of Tolkiens epic for many a 1970s fantasy reader.
Among Hildebrandts many other projects were comics for Marvel and DC, illustrations for Wizards of the Coast (Magic: The Gathering and Harry Potter), magazines Omni, Heavy Metal and Amazing Stories, album art for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Black Sabbath and a long list of book covers.
Hildebrandt also fought for freedom with his artistic gifts. After Russias 2022 invasion of Ukraine, he contributed illustrations for Operation USAs benefit anthology comic book series. Profits were donated to Ukrainian refugee relief efforts. Explaining his decision, he wrote, Any project that I can lend my art to that will thwart Putin is a project I will join with all my heart, soul and mind.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/greg-hildebrandt-iconic-star-wars-and-lord-of-the-rings-artist-has-died-at-85-193026772.html?src=rss
A new update for Instagram posted earlier today could fix one of the most frustrating problems for creators. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, announced a new filtering update on Instagram for creators inboxes.
Instagram users with a creator-designated account can now filter message requests in their inbox based on its sender in a similar way to Gmails labels. Creators can still sort their messages by the most recent received and by the number of followers" but they can now filter out certain messages. The new filters include requests and messages from verified accounts, businesses, creators and subscribers.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Adam Mosseri (@mosseri)
The update also includes a way to sort all of your story replies on Instagram. If you go to the top of your inbox, you can also sort and filter your story replies in case you just wanna get to these requests really quickly and easily, Mosseri says.
Now theres a lot more to do to improve the inbox for creators and requests but hopefully this is one step in the right direction, Mosseri adds in his video. He also said this feature was one a lot of creators were asking for, so hopefully Instagram will be adding more inbox tools in the near future to make that part of the app a bit cleaner.
Instagram has been toying with new ways to update its platform for higher profile users and creators for a long time now. The company started testing its creator account concept in 2018 that allowed celebrities and more famous social media stars to filter their direct messages and track stats of their followers.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/instagram-reorganizes-message-requests-for-creators-191802121.html?src=rss
Audible is offering a sweet promotion as an early Black Friday deal, allowing new users to sign up for three months of its Premium Plus plan for just $3. That breaks down to $1 per month. Its only for new users, so anyone who has previously dipped their toes in the Audible waters are out of luck.
This offer starts today, but is available all the way until midnight on New Years Eve. Its only for US customers and, as usual, the subscription will automatically renew after the three months, so be vigilant about smashing that cancel button if its not working out. The regular price for Audible Premium Plus is $15 per month plus tax.
Audible Premium Plus is the top-tier offering for listening to audiobooks. A membership provides access to the entire catalog plus a monthly credit to purchase nearly any title outright. Subscriptions also offer discounts on other newly-released titles. All told, there are thousands of books to choose from, along with podcasts and Audible Originals.
To that end, theres a whole lot of original content here for fans of different literary genres. James Patterson has an Audible Original that features a stacked voice cast, with Cobie Smulders and Reid Scott headlining. Theres also unique fare like sleep meditations and the like.
Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/audible-is-offering-three-months-for-3-in-an-early-black-friday-deal-183640016.html?src=rss
VPNs, or virtual private networks, are everywhere. If youve spent any time at all on YouTube, chances are youve seen an ad selling VPNs there have been literally hundreds and thousands of them.
We test and review VPNs so you don't have to but what even is a VPN? The pitch is fairly simple: a VPN can mask your IP address and the identity of your device by routing your traffic through a remote server. Sites and services will see a different IP address to your own, and your internet service provider will only be able to see that youre connected to a VPN server, rather than what sites youre visiting. That means a VPN can be an important tool to keep your data private and secure, especially if you need to connect to an unsecured network. If youre on public WiFi, for example, you cant be sure what theyre tracking while youre surfing the internet. With a VPN, theres an additional layer of privacy as long as you make sure the VPN provider can be trusted. But a VPN should not be the end of your security journey. Complex passwords, multifactor authentication and other security basics should be way higher on your checklist.
Another commonly advertised feature of VPNs is evading geoblocking techniques that companies use to prevent you from accessing certain content. Because youre connecting to a remote server, a VPN can effectively change your location, allowing you to watch another countrys Netflix content or, say, watch Doctor Who on the UK-only BBC iPlayer. If youre in the EU, it can allow you to access sites that are otherwise blocked due to the regions strict data protection regulations. In the past, VPNs have even been used to skirt political firewalls put up to censor online access.
With many VPN makers making sweeping claims about military-grade encryption, digital invisibility and lightning-fast speeds, its tough to know whats true and whats marketing hype. Thats why Engadget started evaluating VPNs in 2023, looking at a number of factors such as security, speed, latency, usage limits and price. And while we don't expect to ramp up to more VPN testing until 2025, our best VPNs guide will continue to be the home base of our coverage. In the meantime, this is our current VPN testing methodology.
Background checks
Before we install or sign up for a service, our work begins by investigating each products lineage. We reference privacy policies, transparency reports and security audits that are publicly available, and note the security specs of each service. We also look into each companys history of security incidents like data breaches. We rely on some pre-existing academic work from bodies like Consumer Reports, VPNalyzer and others when looking into security specs.
Setup
The next step in our review process involves a close look at what its like to get set up on the VPN. This involves looking at the various platforms each VPN supports, from certain web browsers to Smart TVs, to better understand how it can be used. We also look to see just how easy it is to get started on a new VPN. Some will automatically connect to a secure server every time you use your device, while others make you jump through hoops to stay signed in. We seek to understand how user friendly and intuitive these VPNs can be.
Usage limits
While many VPN providers promise that their service works across every device all the time, there is often small print to consider. We scan the terms of service for each of the companys plans to understand what they are offering. Is there a limit to the number of devices a user can have connected at once? Is there a fair use limit that kicks in after a certain amount of traffic? Are advanced features multi-hop connections locked to only the priciest plans? We investigate all of these things so you dont have to. We also conduct many of our more specific tests at the same time, which allows us to verify companies claims about simultaneous device use.
Speed and latency
The first step in testing speed and latency is to ascertain the baseline of the connection before connecting to a VPN. We then use the quick connect feature on VPN apps to connect to the fastest provider available when testing internet speed. Once connected, we run internet speed tests by Ookla and ping tests with meter.net. When relaying these results, we will note the average speed and ping across these results, as well as the difference between that average and our baseline when not connected to a VPN.
Geoblocking
We test all VPNs from within the US. To check that a service is able to effectively avoid geoblocking, we connect to a Canada-based server and attempt to access content on Netflix that is only available to users in that country. We then connect to a Hong Kong-based server to attempt to watch a news livestream on a YouTube channel that is exclusively available to users in that region. Finally, we conduct a gaming test by playing on servers in the United Kingdom. Were looking to see not only if we can access the same content from all these servers, but also to test for lag or any other headaches that you could run into when using something.
Checking for leaks
A DNS leak happens when your device sends an unencrypted DNS query outside of your VPN services encrypted tunnel to an ISPs DNS servers. This effectively nullifies the use of a VPN in the first place by allowing third parties to see and potentially track your browsing activity and IP address.
A WebRTC leak is an issue that can occur in modern web browsers that can similarly expose your personal IP address to a website youre on. While you can avoid this by configuring your browser to not send such data, a VPN should be able to prevent this from happening.
To check for both of these issues, we use publicly available tools such as NordVPNs IP address lookup tool and ExpressVPNs leak tests before and after connecting to a VPN and make sure neither fault is occurring.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/vpn/how-we-test-vpns-175845189.html?src=rss
Atari and developer Digital Eclipse have announced details of the next paid expansion for Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration, a remarkable collection that's both a compilation of many of the publisher's games and a documentary about its half-century history. This second DLC is called The First Console War and it highlights the rivalry with Mattels Intellivision, Atari's first real competitor in the console market.
The bundle includes 19 more games and eight video segments that delve into the rivalry, as well as what eventually led to Mattel making games for Atari systems. Atari and Digital Eclipse say the DLC includes more The First Console War DLC features additional interviews, vintage ads and never-before-seen historical artifacts that help tell the story of the battle between Atari and Mattel. As it happens, it was a war Atari ended up decisively winning, as it bought the Intellivision brand earlier this year.
The DLC includes prototypes and other games that never saw the light of day until now. The full list is as follows:
Air Raiders 2600 M Network
Antbear 2600 M Network (unreleased, based on Stern IP)
Armor Ambush 2600 M Network
Astroblast 2600 M Network
Frogs & Flies 2600 M Network
International Soccer 2600 M Network
Dark Cavern 2600 M Network
Star Strike 2600 M Network
Super Challenge Baseball 2600 M Network
Super Challenge Football 2600 M Network
Swordfight 2600 M Network (rare, unreleased)
Sea Battle 2600 M Network (rare, unreleased)
Tower of Mystery (unreleased prototype, recently rescued)
Video Pinball 2600
Basketball 2600
Hardball Atari 8-bit (XE)
Final Legacy (prototype) 5200
Xari Arena Atari 8bit
Desert Falcon 7800
The Last Console War follows a previous DLC called The Wider World of Atari that arrived in September and added another 19 games to the collection. Factoring in the two expansions, Atari 50 will have around 130 games in total.
Those who already have Atari 50 on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PS5 will be able to snap up The Last Console War on November 8. If you have the game on Atari VCS, you'll get the DLC as a free update early next year.
If you're interested in picking up a bundle of the base game and both expansions, you can do just that with Atari 50: The Anniversary Celebration Expanded Edition. That'll be available on November 8 as well. The physical edition for Switch and PS5 costs $40. A steelbook for the Switch includes Atari 2600 art cards and other goodies and will run you $50.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/atari-50s-console-war-expansion-adds-19-more-games-on-november-8-181033645.html?src=rss
The first American-made Polestar EVs are now on the road. The Swedish automaker said on Friday it delivered the first Polestar 3 SUVs to US and Canadian customers. The Inflation Reduction Act, signed by President Biden in 2022, incentivizes automakers to manufacture EVs in the US, offering tax credits for companies and buyers.
Polestar began stateside Polestar 3 production in August at its Ridgeville, South Carolina plant. Those vehicles will serve North American and European markets, complementing the companys more established production in Chengdu, China.
Tim Stevens for Engadget
The automaker says American and Canadian Polestar 3 deliveries will pick up steam in the coming weeks. You can take one for a spin if you live near one of the automakers Polestar Spaces, essentially brand-building fancy showrooms in or near major US cities.
The Polestar 3 is billed as the companys coming-out party, expanding the niche reach of the first two models to a more mainstream audience. Engadgets Tim Stevens tested the EV last month and found that, apart from a few early software glitches, the $73,400 and up SUV is great.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/polestar-delivers-the-first-us-made-polestar-3-evs-180002236.html?src=rss
The newest version of Boses QuietComfort headphones are on sale via Amazon for just $200. This ties a record-low price, as these headphones typically cost $350. All told, the early Black Friday sale represents a discount of 43 percent. Most colorways are included with this deal, so have at it.
A version of these cans made our list of the best wireless headphones, so theres plenty to recommend. The battery life is fantastic, lasting around 24 hours on a single charge. Theres also a quick charge feature, which can squeeze two hours of additional use with just 15 minutes at the power outlet. These are primarily wireless headphones, but can operate with an analog connection.
The adjustable EQ is great and, of course, the sound is top-tier. Bose is known for making some pretty good stuff. There are touch controls built into the earcups, which is handy, and active noise cancellation. This ANC can be adjusted to create a transparency mode, so you wont walk into a truck or whatever. The headphones are also quite comfortable, thanks to plush earcups and a padded band.
The only downside here is the price. Its tough to recommend these headphones at $350, especially with rival products at similar price points from companies like Apple, Sony and Sennheiser. However, its really easy to recommend them at $200. Thats a legit steal.
Check out all of the latest Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals here.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/boses-latest-quietcomfort-headphones-return-to-a-record-low-price-ahead-of-black-friday-174600060.html?src=rss
