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There's another development in the saga that is governments accusing Google of monopolistic practices favoring its search app and Chrome. The Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has issued a cease and desist order to Google, demanding the tech company end all efforts to gain preferential treatment on Android phones. The watchdog alleges that Google required phone makers to preinstall Chrome and Google Search on Android phones along with setting Chrome as the default browser. It also claims they had to place the icons for each app on the home screen. This arrangement came due to the tech company's power as provider of the Google Play app ecosystem, which Android manufacturers need to install before distribution. However, the JFTC further claims that Google sweetened the deal, agreeing to give these phone manufacturers a slice of its ad revenue. As of last December, six Android phone manufacturers allegedly had these deals with Google. These arrangements have been ongoing since at least July 2020, if not earlier. The JFTC's decision follows an investigation, opened in October 2023. It comes the same week as a Japanese delegation, led by Economy Minister Ryosei Akazawa, will visit the US to negotiate tariffs. The US has expressed similar concerns to Japan. Last November, US federal judge Amit Mehta called Google "a monopolist" within the search engine industry and called on the company to sell off Chrome. An evidentiary hearing on the matter is set to begin later this month, with a trial commencing in May. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/japan-clamps-down-on-googles-android-app-pre-install-deals-130050220.html?src=rss
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At long last, NVIDIA has announced its budget GeForce RTX 50-series, but don't expect any major discounts over the previous models. The RTX 5060 will start at $299, just like the RTX 4060 did when it launched two years ago. Of course, it's unclear how many people will actually be able to nab it at that price, given the volatile nature of the GPU market and further fluctuations from the Trump administration's sloppy tariff deployment. NVIDIA is also launching two variants of RTX 5060 Ti GPUs with 8GB and 16GB of VRAM, priced at $379 and $429, respectively. Those faster GPUs will arrive on April 16, but we don't have a firm date for the RTX 5060 besides a vague May release. While NVIDIA touts the typical performance improvements, the real selling point of the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti will be their full support of DLSS 4 upscaling and 4X multi-frame generation. In my reviews of the RTX 5070, 5070 Ti and 5090 cards, I was surprised how much DLSS 4 boosted frame rates while still delivering excellent image quality. But it'll be interesting to see if that technology will see much benefit from slower cards like the 5060 and 5060 Ti. NVIDIA Curiously, NVIDIA isn't divulging full specs for these GPUs just yet, even though plenty of early details have already emerged. Officially, the company says the RTX 5060 is powered by 8GB of GDDR7 VRAM, 19 TFLOPS Blackwell shader cores, 5th-gen tensor cores with 614 AI TOPS performance and 4th gen RT (ray tracing) cores that can hit 58 TFLOPS. Unofficially, reports claim it also has 3,840 CUDA cores. In comparison, the RTX 4060 had 3072 CUDA cores and 8GB of GDDR6 VRAM. The RTX 5060 Ti reportedly steps things up to 4,608 CUDA cores and the aforementioned 8GB and 16GB GDDR7 RAM options. NVIDIA says its Blackwell shader cores offer 6 TFLOPS more performance than the 5060, which should be plenty noticeable in typical gameplay. The RTX 5060 is mostly a 1080p-focused card, while the RTX 5060 Ti is far better suited to 1,440p gameplay as long as you don't need obscene framerates. According to NVIDIA's benchmarks, the RTX 5060 can reach 234 fps in Hogwarts Legacy while playing in 1080p with maxed out graphics settings and 4X frame-generation. The RTX 4060, in comparison, hits around 110 fps with 1x frame generation. NVIDIA claims the 5060 can also reach 148 fps in Cyberpunk 2077, 220fps in Avowed, and 330 fps in Marvel Rivals in 1080p with the same graphics settings and frame gen. It could be the perfect card if you're rocking a 240Hz 1080p screen. As for the RTX 5060 Ti, NVIDIA says it can reach 108 fps in Cyberpunk while playing in 1,440p with Full RT graphics settings and 4X frame generation. That's double the 4060 Ti, which reached 52 fps with 1x frame generation. Even when native performance is solid, NVIDIA also says DLSS 4's transformer upscaling model can improve overall image quality and latency. The 5060 Ti can reach 61 fps and 70ms latency in Hogwartz Legacy natively, but the latency drops to 47ms with DLSS 4 enabled (which also pumps up the frame rate to 171 fps). As usual, a scaled down version of the RTX 5060 is also headed to laptops, which NVIDIA says will start at $1,099. We don't have specs for that hardware either, but the company claims it'll be able to reach 146 fps in Cyberpunk 2077 while playing in 1080p with ultra graphics settings and 2X frame generation. In comparison, the mobile RTX 4060 reached 60fps with those settings, and it was also limited to 1x frame generation. The real challenge for NVIDIA with the GeForce RTX 5060 family lies in pricing. The company doesn't directly control how OEMs price their cards, and numbers could also fluctuate wildly depending on stock and economic conditions. So sure, the RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti sound compelling for their price, but it remains to be seen if those figures are actually realistic for consumers. And it'll be interesting to see how AMD responds with cheaper new GPUs, after its Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT cards walloped NVIDIA's current mid-range options. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/nvidias-geforce-rtx-5060-gpu-starts-at-299-rtx-5060-ti-at-379-130020340.html?src=rss
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Chipolo has launched a new Bluetooth tracker that works with both Apple Find My and Google Find My Device networks. The Chipolo Pop comes in the same form factor and colors as the Chipolo One, which is one of Engadget's best Bluetooth trackers for 2025. But unlike One that only works with the Chipolo app, the company's Spot line that only works with Apple Find My and its Point-branded trackers that only work with Google's network, Pop is compatible with all three. The Chipolo Pop has a range of 90 meters or 300 feet, longer than the older Chipolo models' 200-feet range. It's dust and water-resistant (IP55) and is powered by a replaceable CR2032 battery that can keep the tracker running for up to a year. Pop works with Apple's Find My network on iPhones installed with iOS 14.5 or later and iPads with iPadOS 14.5. Android phones and tablets must be running Android 9 or later with Google Play Services if you want to link them with the Pop tracker. Even if you technically don't need the Chipolo app, installing it will give you access to extra features like the ability to call your phone by double-pressing the tracker, as well as the ability to change its ring volume to up to 120 dB and to change its ring tone. A single Pop tracker will set you back $29, but you can get a four-pack in various colors for $89 instead of $116. If you order straight from Chipolo's website, you could get your order as soon as April 20. You can also pre-order the tracker from Amazon, though the model will be released on the e-commerce website on April 30. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/chipolos-pop-bluetooth-tracker-works-with-both-apples-and-googles-find-my-networks-120014022.html?src=rss
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Just before the weekend, the US Customs and Border Protection published a list of products excluded from Trumps tariffs, including smartphones, PCs, memory chips and lets say 80 percent of everything we write about at Engadget. However, thats more because theyll be siloed into a specific product category. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said in an interview on Sunday: Those products are going to be part of the semiconductor sectoral tariffs, which are coming. The new exclusions would exempt many devices and parts from both the 10 percent global tariff and the steeper tariff on China. Lutnick told ABC News Jonathan Karl that, in doing this, the president was just making sure everyone understood that all of these products are outside the reciprocal tariffs and they are going to have their own separate way of being considered. He added that semiconductor tariffs are coming in probably a month or two. Maybe reassess that Switch 2 pre-order. Mat Smith Get Engadget's newsletter delivered direct to your inbox. Subscribe right here! Everything else you might have missed How to use the Apple Passwords app Doctor Who The Robot Revolution review: Meet Belinda Chandra The best wireless headphones The Last of Us season 2 premiere review The Meta Quest 3S is on sale for a record-low price The Espresso 15 Pro is a pricey, good portable monitor Its bright, its portable, its expensive. Engadget At $699, it's a bit pricey, but the Espresso 15 Pro has pretty much everything you could want in a travel-friendly 15-inch display. And if youre regularly wielding two screens on the go, this could be an investment. Its brighter than predecessors, has a slick design and a stand and can even add touch support to Macs if you want that. Continue reading. OpenAI is phasing out GPT-4.5 for developers GPT-4.1 is actually newer and, importantly, cheaper to run. OpenAI is sunsetting GPT-4.5 from its developer API in favor of its new GPT-4.1 model. (Yeah, confusing. When it launched, OpenAI described GPT-4.5 as its best and most capable model so far, in part because it was a more natural conversationalist. Cant find it? OpenAI says GPT-4.1 is exclusively for developers using OpenAIs API. So you wont find it as an option in the public-facing ChatGPT interface. Continue reading. Samsung keeps rugged gadgets alive with new phone and tablet IP-rated for enterprise. Samsung Samsung has announced two new rugged devices, the Galaxy XCover 7 Pro and the Galaxy Tab Active 5 Pro, which feature removable backplates and user-replaceable batteries. Its an enterprise affair but comes with all of Samsungs Galaxy AI features and Googles latest features, like Circle to Search. The toughness credentials include IP68 water and dust resistance, MIL-STD-810H certification for drops, programmable buttons and a battery you can replace yourself. Continue reading.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-engadget-newsletter-111558256.html?src=rss
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Espresso Displays makes some of our favorite portable monitors, but up until now, it felt like there was a hole in its portfolio. That's because aside from its flagship model the $800 Espresso 17 Pro the other members of the family are slightly more affordable fare like the $469 Espresso Touch 13 and $499 Touch 15. Today, the company is plugging that gap with the Espresso 15 Pro, which packs everything I like about its bigger sibling in a more portable package for $699 (with a stand included). Design and display One of the things I appreciate about Espresso is that it doesn't try to do too much. The 15 Pro features an ultra minimalist design made from simple sheets of matte black aluminum along with glossy glass in front (if you prefer matte displays, you can always add one of the company's textured screen protectors). Granted, the monitor does have a bit of a chin, but aside from two USB-C ports stashed in the corner, that's really the 15 Pro's only defining exterior feature, so I'm not that bothered. All told, the display weighs 1 pound and 11 ounces, which sounds a lot heavier than it feels. As for its specs, the Espresso 15 Pro's 4K LCD panel delivers nearly everything you want and then some. Brightness tops out at 550 nits (it was actually 556 nits according to my light meter), which is higher than the 450 nits on the 17-inch model. It also covers 100 percent of the Adobe RGB spectrum with 10-bit color (8-bit + 2-bit frame rate control). The one thing I wish Espresso included was a 120Hz refresh rate instead of being capped at 60Hz. That said, unless you're gaming or editing videos, that limitation may not be a huge factor. Setup and special features Sam Rutherford for Engadget Getting the 15 Pro up and running couldn't be easier. Each USB-C port has enough bandwidth to carry power and data over a single cable, so you just need to plug in the included cord, and off you go. The one exception is for laptops that can't send out much power via USB-C, but I tested the monitor with 4 different laptops (both Mac and PC) and none of them had issues. The display even automatically downloaded the EspressoFlow software, which adds touch support to your Apple notebooks. You also get the new Glide feature that automatically positions the monitor in the right place depending on how you have it arranged next to your laptop. And by some black magic, the 15 Pro nailed it when it correctly laid out the monitor to the left of my notebook's built-in screen. As someone who has recently been forced to use a Mac for work, the ability to quickly and easily add touch support to Apple's laptop is super nice. And while I'm far from a digital Degas, you can even use the display for drawing and sketching as the monitor also works with the company's optional stylus. This makes the 15 Pro an ideal travel companion for both people who want more screen real estate or a portable way of creating art on the go. Accessories In addition to screen protectors and pens, there are also a couple of important stand accessories for the 15 Pro. The first is the $49 Espresso Case, which is more of a magnetic folding cover that protects the screen while in transit that can also flip around back to become a kickstand when you're working. Like the display itself, it's a fairly simple affair that does exactly what you expect it to. However, for those who want something more substantial, the 15 Pro also works with Espresso's $69 Stand+. It's more like what you'd see on a traditional desktop monitor, except that it can fold up for improved portability while also packing a really strong magnet that allows you to mount the monitor in a variety of positions. This thing might be too pricey for some, but I've quickly grown to appreciate how easy it makes putting the 15 Pro in the perfect position. It's more well-built than a lot of the desktop monitor stands I have. The obvious drawback is that at 1 pound and 4 ounces, the Stand+ weighs almost as much as the display itself, which is rather hefty. Wrap-up Sam Rutherford for Engadget The Espresso 15 Pro has nearly everything I look for in a premium portable monitor. It features well above average brightness, a sleek but sturdy design and super simple setup. It also comes with a few special features like Glide and added touch support for Macs that help you get more out of the devices you already own. And thanks to a wealth of accessories, it can adapt to almost any use case. While I'd like a higher refresh rate, not having it is far from a deal-breaker. That would almost certainly increase its price, and considering that the 15 Pro is already somewhat costly, starting at $699 for the monitor and the Stand+, I'm not sure the added expense would be worth it. Regardless, if you want a really portable monitor that's also more than good enough to use at home, there aren't many other displays that can match the Espresso 15 Pro.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/espresso-15-pro-review-just-a-really-nice-though-pricey-portable-monitor-230046315.html?src=rss
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