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The Department of Defense said giving Anthropic continued access to its warfighting infrastructure would “introduce unacceptable risk” to its supply chains in a court filing submitted in response to the AI company’s lawsuit. If you’ll recall, Anthropic sued the government to challenge the supply chain risk designation it received for refusing to allow its model to be used for mass surveillance and the development of autonomous weapons.

In its filing, the department explained that its secretary, Pete Hegseth, had a provision incorporated into AI service contracts, allowing the agency to use their technologies for any lawful purpose. Anthropic refused its terms and apparently, the company’s behavior caused the Pentagon to question whether it truly was a “trusted partner” that it could work with when it comes to “highly sensitive” initiatives. “After all, AI systems are acutely vulnerable to manipulation, and Anthropic could attempt to disable its technology or preemptively alter the behavior of its model either before or during ongoing warfighting operations, if Anthropic — in its discretion — feels that its corporate “red lines” are being crossed,” the Pentagon wrote in its filing. “DoW deemed that an unacceptable risk to national security,” it added, referring to the agency as the Department of War, which is the Trump administration’s preferred name for it.

It was due to those concerns that President Trump ordered federal agencies to stop using its technology, the filing reads. The company is asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction and put a pause on a ban while it’s challenging its supply chain risk designation in court. While Anthropic’s clients could continue working with the company on non-defense-related projects, it says the label could cause it to lose billions of dollars in revenue. It’s not quite clear if Anthropic is still trying to reach a new deal with the government, as was reported before it filed its lawsuit. As The New York Times notes, Microsoft, Google and OpenAI had filed friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Anthropic since then.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/defense-department-says-anthropic-poses-unacceptable-risk-to-national-security-094328717.html?src=rss

Subnautica 2 has weathered the storm and has rescheduled its early access release. IGN reported today that the sequel to the underwater survival game will begin early access on PC and Xbox in May, although a more specific date was not provided. 

The news comes a day after a judge ruled that former Unknown Worlds Entertainment CEO Ted Gill should be rehired at the game studio. That decision capped off a dramatic year for the team behind Subnautica, which was acquired by Krafton in 2021. The studio and its new owners entered a legal battle because the purchase of Unknown Worlds included a promise of an up to $250 million payout from Krafton if the team met certain performance goals by the end of 2025. In July of that year, however, Krafton fired several studio leaders and then delayed the sequel's early access launch. The court case has raised questions about which side was trying to either secure or avoid making that multi-million payment. 

With yesterday's ruling, a rep from Krafton said that "we are evaluating our options as we determine our path forward." It's unclear if that path, or the other litigation still underway over the project, will create further delays to the planned early access date.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/subnautica-2-might-finally-be-entering-early-access-in-may-223747369.html?src=rss

Horizon Worlds, Meta's first pass at a metaverse, will be inaccessible via virtual reality headset after June 15, 2026. The company shared plans to separate Horizon Worlds from Quest VR platform and focus exclusively on the smartphone version of the app in February, and now in a new post on its community forums, Meta detailed when the VR version of Horizon Worlds will be deprecated.

By March 31, Meta says individual Horizon Worlds and Events will no longer be listed in the Quest's Store and headset owners will be unable to visit worlds like "Horizon Central, Events Arena, Kaiju and Bobber Bay." Then, after June 15, the app will be removed from Quest headsets and worlds will be completely unavailable to visit in VR. From that point on, the easiest place to visit Horizon Worlds will be in the Meta Horizon app for iOS and Android.

Additionally, Hyperscape Capture, a recently added beta feature that allows Quest headset owners to capture, share and visit each other in detailed 3D scans of real-life locations, is also being removed from Horizon Worlds. Meta says users will still be able to capture and view Hyperscapes, "but sharing, inviting, and co-experiencing Hyperscapes with others will no longer be supported."

While Meta's original blog detailing its 2026 VR strategy left open the possibility that a committed Quest owner might still be able to access some part of Meta's original VR metaverse, that apparently was never the company's plan. Meta saw enough "positive momentum" focusing on supporting the mobile version of Horizon Worlds in 2025 that it made sense to completely abandon the VR one in 2026. While that seems to run contrary to Meta’s positioning as a "metaverse company," it does reflect where the company is spending the most money and seeing the most (relative) success: AI and smart glasses.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ar-vr/meta-will-shut-down-vr-horizon-worlds-access-in-june-222028919.html?src=rss

Apple has started providing small security updates to iOS, iPadOS and macOS devices. These are dubbed Background Security Improvements that will offer minor system updates between the larger software updates. According to the company, these are meant to "deliver lightweight security releases for components such as the Safari browser, WebKit framework stack, and other system libraries that benefit from smaller, ongoing security patches between software updates."

These updates should download in the background, as the name implies, although the device will need to be restarted to complete the process. In practice, we found that applying a Background Security Improvement was faster than a typical software update from Apple. On an iPhone, the restart was more of a power cycle taking under a minute compared with the 5 to 10 minutes a standard update takes a device out of commission. 

The inaugural Background Security Improvement was released today with a patch for WebKit. These updates will be supported and enabled on devices running iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1 and macOS 26.1. Details can be reviewed under the Privacy & Security section of the Settings menu.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apple-releases-its-first-background-security-improvement-for-macos-ios-and-ipados-214052311.html?src=rss

What a short, strange journey it's been for FBC: Firebreak; Remedy announced that the final update for the online multiplayer game is available today. But while this Open House update will be the end of new content, the studio said it plans to keep the game available.

"FBC: Firebreak will stay online and continue to be playable for years to come," Remedy said. "We have done engineering work to ensure we can sustain the upkeep of the relay servers when the player volume is lower."

Remedy has won lots of fans for creating the eerie, surreal world where its hits Control and Alan Wake are set. FBC: Firebreak, which was released last year, is also based in that universe. However, this multiplayer game took a beating in reviews, largely due to its poorly received onboarding experience and Remedy shared plans to improve the first few hours of the game. Its CEO also left the company last year and sparked a shakeup in the leadership at the studio. 

The Open House update will add some new in-game content, but the more interesting changes seem aimed at making FBC: Firebreak more accessible. The base price has been dropped to $20, and the game has added a feature called Friend's Pass that will allow people who don't own the game to accept match invites from players who do own it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/remedy-releases-its-final-content-update-for-fbc-firebreak-212000463.html?src=rss

Spotify is introducing a way for subscribers to get bit-perfect playback of songs if they listen on Windows. The company's newly announced "Exclusive Mode" gives the music streaming app complete control of audio processing on your PC so you can listen to songs exactly as they were mastered.

"Without Exclusive Mode turned on, your computer may alter audio before it reaches your DAC by resampling it, mixing other system sounds in, and changing the volume," Spotify writes. With the mode enabled, all other sounds from your computer are disabled so Spotify can deliver the highest quality and most accurate version of a song possible. Exclusive Mode will help maintain fidelity while you’re playing a song, but to make sure you're not losing quality anywhere else in the chain, you'll still want to listen with wired headphones connected to a DAC or digital-to-analog converter, and opt to use Spotify’s lossless streaming option.

Exclusive Mode is only available on Windows for now, but Spotify says it'll come to the macOS version of the Spotify app "in a future release." Provided you're a Spotify Premium subscriber, enabling the feature is fairly simple:

1. Open Spotify.

2. Click on Settings.

3. Scroll down to Playback.

4. Toggle Exclusive Mode to "On" under the Output section.

Spotify launched its Lossless streaming option as a perk for Premium subscribers in September 2025. The company was rumored to be working on the feature as far back as 2017 and even formally announced it as Spotify HiFi in 2021, opening up the possibility it could be a more expensive add-on to a normal subscription. Now both lossless audio and “bit-perfect” playback are included as part of the same $13 per month you pay for a Premium subscription.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/music/spotify-rolls-out-bit-perfect-playback-in-windows-app-211036176.html?src=rss

It's only been two years since Dune: Part Two took over multiplexes, but we already have a trailer for the third installment. The appropriately-named Dune: Part Three is an adaptation of Frank Herbert's Dune Messiah book from 1969.

Just like the book, the latest film takes place a number of years after Dune: Part Two. "If the first movie was contemplation, a boy exploring a new world, and the second one is a war movie, this one is a thriller," according to The Hollywood Reporter. "It is action-packed and tense. More muscular.”

Despite the time jump, most primary actors are returning. This includes Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya and Javier Bardem. Anya Taylor-Joy, who briefly appeared in the second film, is also coming back. The same goes for Jason Momoa, despite his Duncan Idaho character dying in the first film. Book readers will likely understand what that means.

The trailer also highlights the antagonist Scytale, as portrayed by Robert Pattinson. He should be a more nuanced villain than Baron Harkonnen, though that's not exactly a high bar.

The release date is coming up fast. Dune: Part Three hits theaters on December 18. That's this year. Villeneuve had intended to take a break after making the second one to focus on a smaller and more personal film, but said that he kept "waking in the middle of the night" with potential images from the third installment.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/tv-movies/the-dune-part-three-trailer-introduces-robert-pattinsons-villainous-new-character-173758393.html?src=rss

Kalshi has been sued by Arizona's attorney general for operating an illegal gambling business in the state and unlawfully ‌allowing people to place bets on elections. "Kalshi may brand itself as a 'prediction ⁠market,' but what it's actually doing is running an illegal gambling operation ​and taking bets on Arizona elections, both of which violate Arizona law," the state's Attorney General Kris Mayes said. 

The company defines itself as a prediction markets platform, where users make bets on the outcomes of events ranging from sporting matches to political actions. Kalshi has claimed that it operates under the auspices of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and shouldn't be faced with the state-level charges of running unlicensed gambling. 

The case follows a similar action against Kalshi filed in Nevada last month. Kalshi also made headlines this year when an employee of popular YouTuber MrBeast was accused of insider trading on the platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/arizona-attorney-general-sues-kalshi-on-illegal-gambling-charges-172006290.html?src=rss

Now that Epic Games and Google have made up — or at least found a way to resolve their long-running disputes — everyone with a compatible Android device can get back to the business of playing Fortnite. The game will return to the Play Store globally on March 19, the same day that the next Fortnite season goes live. It previously dropped back onto the Play Store in the US in December.

Google pulled Fortnite from the Play Store back in 2020 after Epic tried to bypass the 30 percent cut of all in-app purchases that the storefront too. Apple did the same thing with the App Store version of Fortnite. Epic swiftly sued Google and Apple, kickstarting years-long legal battles with both companies. 

No matter where you are, we’ve got you covered. Fortnite is back on Google Play.

3.19.26: https://t.co/8M0MjZcvDI pic.twitter.com/QWyR1TEJzX

— Fortnite (@Fortnite) March 17, 2026

The dispute with Apple ultimately led to the company having to open up the App Store in certain markets, including the US and EU. Fortnite returned to the App Store in the EU in 2024 and in the US last year.

Google and Epic reached a settlement in November. Earlier this month, Google announced that it was lowering the cut it takes of in-app payments from 30 percent to between 10 and 20 percent. At that time, Epic CEO Tim Sweeney (who reportedly agreed not to publicly talk smack about the Play Store until 2032 as part of the settlement) confirmed that Fortnite would return to Google's mobile storefront.

Epic recently announced a price increase for the in-game V-Bucks currency. It also confirmed that Fortnite Save the World — the game's original mode — is going free-to-play in April.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fortnite-will-return-to-googles-play-store-globally-on-march-19-170200794.html?src=rss

FIFA is turning to streaming platforms to maximize its return on the 2026 World Cup. Two months after announcing a "Preferred Platform" partnership with TikTok, the organization has now struck a similar deal with YouTube.

Broadcasting rights are FIFA’s largest revenue stream for the tournament — and media companies pay top dollar for that access. So, deals like this with streaming platforms help sweeten the package for broadcasters looking to boost their reach.

What does that look like for those watching from home? FIFA says its media partners will have the option of streaming "a select number of matches in full" on their YouTube channels. They can also live-stream the first 10 minutes of every match, presumably serving as a hook to coax viewers to finish the match on television. In addition, FIFA's media partners will get access to "every angle" of match footage to craft custom content.

"As the world's attention turns to the action in Canada, Mexico and the United States, this collaboration with YouTube reinforces our ambition to maximise the tournament's impact across the ever-evolving media landscape," FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström said. He says the partnership will offer "fans everywhere easy access to an immersive view of the biggest single-sport event in history."

The World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19. Matches will take place in 16 cities across Canada, Mexico, and the US.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/youtube-and-fifa-partner-up-for-the-2026-world-cup-170200470.html?src=rss

When OpenAI released GPT-5.4 at the start of March, the company said the new model was designed primarily for professional work like programming and data analysis. Now OpenAI is launching GPT-5.4 mini and nano, and while it is once again highlighting the usefulness of these new systems for tasks like coding, one of the new models is available to Free and Go users. What's more, that model, GPT-5.4 mini, even offers performance that approaches GPT-5.4 in a handful of areas.

As a Free or Go user, you can access 5.4 mini by selecting "Thinking" from ChatGPT's plus menu. For paid users, the model is the new fallback for when you've hit your rate limit with 5.4 proper. OpenAI says 5.4 mini offers better performance than GPT-5.0 mini in a few different key areas, including reasoning, multimodal understanding and tool use. That means 5.4 mini is better at parsing non-text inputs such as images and audio, and has a more nuanced understanding of how to do things like search the web. It does all of this while running more than twice as fast as its predecessor. 

As for GPT-5.4 nano, OpenAI says it's ideal for tasks such as data classification and extraction where speed and cost-efficiency are top of mind. If you're a ChatGPT user, you won't find the new model in the chatbot. Instead, OpenAI is making it only available through its API service. The company envisions developers using more advanced models to delegate tasks to AI agents running GPT-5.4 nano, and that's reflected in the cost of the new model, which OpenAI has priced starting at $0.20 per million input tokens.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/gpt-54-mini-brings-some-of-the-smarts-of-openais-latest-model-to-chatgpt-free-and-go-users-170000585.html?src=rss

We might not have had a proper Nintendo Direct in 2026 yet, but there have been plenty of Switch and Switch 2-related announcements in the last few weeks, including a release date for the Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, a surprise port of Kena: Bridge of Spirits and the final trailer for the imminent The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. But if you’re a Switch 2 owner who prefers to play your library of games in handheld mode, Nintendo’s latest announcement might be the one that interests you most.

The company has released the 22.0.0 system update for its latest console, which brings with it a host of tweaks and improvements, the most notable of which being the introduction of "Handheld Mode Boost." If you’ve played any original Switch games that haven’t received next-gen patches in handheld mode on Switch 2, you might have noticed that they look a bit blurry and unappealing. That’s because they’re still rendering at 720p on the Switch 2’s larger 1080p display, so the image is being stretched to fit a screen it wasn’t designed for.

Handheld Mode Boost doesn’t mean that all unpatched Switch games are now natively running at 1080p on Switch 2, but rather that the console is telling them to run in the original Switch’s docked TV mode — which was able to output at 1080p — on the handheld. Since launch this has seemed like the obvious workaround for Switch games, but it has taken nearly a year for Nintendo to implement it. You should see higher resolution visuals and, in some cases, better performance, as a result.

When running original Switch games in Handheld Boost Mode (enabled via a toggle in the system menu) your Switch 2 will treat the attached Joy-Con 2 controllers as if they were a Pro Controller. This disables features like motion controls and touchscreen functionality, meaning some games won't work on the newer hardware with Handheld Boost Mode turned on. Eurogamer names Super Mario Maker 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD as two examples of games that aren't compatible at the moment. 

There are a number of other updates in version 22.0.0, including a new animation for loading a virtual game card, new GameChat features and more customization options in flight mode. The full list of patch notes can be found here.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/switch-2-software-update-adds-handheld-mode-boost-for-your-old-games-165451808.html?src=rss

There's an official WhatsApp app for select Garmin smartwatches. It's available for free right now in the Garmin Connect IQ Store. WhatsApp is primarily a chat platform, so this new app allows users to read and reply to messages, send emojis and peruse the chat history.

The app also lets users accept or decline incoming calls arriving from the platform, all without having to break out the smartphone. This is WhatsApp, so messages are end-to-end encrypted.

As previously mentioned, it's not available for every Garmin watch. It's compatible with select Forerunner, Venu, Vivoactive and Fenix watches. The Connect IQ Store should be able to say if your particular model can handle the app.

This is just the latest smartwatch platform to get WhatsApp. Meta released an Apple Watch version at the tail-end of last year. Before that, Apple Watch users had to mirror iPhone notifications to reply to WhatsApp messages directly from the device.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/whatsapp-is-now-officially-available-on-garmin-smartwatches-164156538.html?src=rss

Starfield is officially coming to PS5, with a launch date set for April 7. Preorders are open right now for both the digital and physical versions. It's long been rumored that Bethesda's sci-fi RPG would be going multiplatform and, well, here we are.

The PS5 version will tap into the DualSense controller's capabilities with adaptive triggers that work differently depending on the weapon you're using. The light bar will offer an indication of your character and ship health (if you ever look at it while you're playing, that is). You'll also be able to use the touchpad to switch between points of view and access your map and hand scanner.

There will be a standard edition and a premium edition, matching the versions that originally showed up on Xbox consoles. The premium edition includes the base game, the Shattered Space and Terran Armada story expansions, a skin pack, some virtual currency and a digital artbook/soundtrack. The standard edition is $50, and the premium version will run you $70. If you buy the base game and decide later that you want to upgrade to the premium version to access the DLC, there'll be a $25 upgrade available.

Other notable former Xbox exclusives have gone multiplatform, including Avowed, Forza Horizon 5, Senua's Saga: Hellblade II and Sea of Thieves. The PS5 will even be home to a Halo game in the near future.

It's been rumored that the Switch 2 would be getting its own Starfield port at some point. If Nintendo's new console can handle Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, another Bethesda release, it can likely run Starfield.

As for the Terran Armada DLC, that will be available on April 7 alongside a free update. The latter (which is dubbed Free Lanes) includes an overhaul of the space travel system. You'll be able to fly freely between planets in a star system and enable cruise mode, which enables you to chat with shipmates or decorate your ship while traveling. Points of interest will pop up while you're in cruise mode as well — you can switch your destination to one of those instead if there's something that catches your interest. 

There are more space encounters too. If you run into one of these, your ship will exit cruise mode and you'll have to deal with the situation before continuing. These encounters may or may not feature combat. In some cases, you'll have to explore ship wreckages.

The free update also introduces deeper customization for weapons, gear and ships through a collectible item called X-Tech. You'll be able to spend this (and regular credits) on re-rolls for legendary effects for your weapons. 

Elsewhere, there's a new database system; more side quests; two higher-level quality tiers (superior and exceptional) for your gear; an optimization terminal you can add to your ship to help customize and upgrade your ride; containers from which you'll be access stored gear at any of your outposts; an outpost pet; and much more. In addition, there'll be a way for you to start a New Game+ run with all of the gear you've previously acquired.

If you don't have the premium edition of Starfield, you can buy the Terran Armada DLC for $10. This includes a new story questline. You'll face the Terrans, "an advanced militant force with their own vision for the Settled Systems." One Terran robot will be available as a new companion.

The DLC introduces an Incursion system. This includes battles that form a key part of the DLC storyline. These range from "small skirmishes to large-scale infiltrations of Terran vessels where the objectives can vary," Bethesda wrote in a blog post. You'll be able to replay incursions to score extra loot. Via the gameplay options, you can limit how often non-story-required incursions pop up.

Terran Armada also adds new gear and ship parts; elite crew members; an outpost pre-build and decorations; and more.

Starfield is a huge sci-fi RPG with elements of Mass Effect and Fallout. We were blown away by its graphical beauty, but were initially underwhelmed by the generic story and gameplay. The game has, however, received a fair number of improvements since launch. It's pretty good now, and hopefully the Free Lanes update and DLC will improve things even further.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/starfield-is-coming-to-ps5-on-april-7-162341201.html?src=rss

Microsoft has revealed the second wave of Game Pass additions for March. Disco Elysium and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard headline the 12-title batch, and several games previously exclusive to the Ultimate tier are also expanding to Premium.

DreamWorks Gabby's Dollhouse: Ready to Party kicks off the wave on March 17. South of Midnight, the action-adventure from Xbox studio Compulsion Games, and The Alters both arrive on March 18 on the Premium tier after being Ultimate-only. The Alters, from Frostpunk studio 11 Bit Studios, strands you on a hostile planet where your survival plan involves creating alternate versions of yourself based on different life choices and putting them to work.

Disco Elysium arrives on March 19 across all tiers. ZA/UM's detective RPG casts you as an amnesiac cop tasked with solving a murder, though the game is just as happy to let you become "an absolute disaster of a human being." Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, from the series formerly known as Yakuza, hits on March 24. Action packed roguelite Absolum, which we loved, follows on March 25, marking its Xbox debut.

Roman city-builder Nova Roma arrives March 26 as a day-one Game Pass release, and survival game The Long Dark joins on March 30. First-person survival epic Resident Evil 7: Biohazard arrives on March 31.

Barbie Horse Trails and 2025 Game of the Year Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 both land on April 2, with Clair Obscur coming to the Premium tier after launching as a day-one Game Pass Ultimate title. Final Fantasy IV rounds out the wave on April 7. Peppa Pig World Adventures and Mad Streets leave Game Pass on March 31.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/xbox/more-game-pass-additions-for-march-include-disco-elysium-and-resident-evil-7-161050028.html?src=rss

At the start of the year, Google introduced Personal Intelligence, a Gemini feature that allows the chatbot to pull information from the user's other Google apps and services to generate personalized responses. After making the feature first available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, the company is expanding availability to more users in the US. 

Google is kicking off the expansion with AI Mode. Starting today, anyone in the US can enable Personal Intelligence inside of the company's dedicated search chatbot. To enable the feature, tap on your profile, select Search personalization, followed by Connected Content Apps. From there, select Connect Workspace and Google Photos.

In the coming weeks, Google will start rolling out Personal Intelligence to free users of the Gemini app in the US, with international availability to follow thereafter. The company plans to do the same with Gemini in Chrome, where personalization will first roll out to users in the US before becoming available in other countries. 

Google suggests a few different use cases for Gemini personalization inside of AI Mode, the Gemini app and Chrome. For instance, say you turn to AI mode for help with planning an upcoming trip. Instead of generating a generic itinerary, the chatbot will pull information from your apps to suggest something more tailored to your interests. It can also help you with troubleshooting in cases where you can’t remember the exact make or model of a device you’re trying to fix, as long as there are some hints to its origin contained inside of your Gmail account.

In each case, Personal Intelligence is disabled by default. Gemini will not personalize its responses unless you enable the new feature. Additionally, personalization is only available to personal accounts and not for Workspace business, enterprise and education users.  

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-makes-gemini-personalization-available-to-free-users-160000581.html?src=rss

Amazon just launched one-hour and three-hour delivery options in many cities and towns throughout the US. As a matter of fact, the company says three-hour delivery windows are already available in over 2,000 locations, while one-hour windows have launched in "hundreds" of cities. You can check to see if your area is covered by clicking right here.

Just like same-day and next-day delivery, this doesn't cover every available item. Amazon boasts that over 90,000 products are ready for "fast, reliable delivery in just a few clicks." There has been a priority placed on the kinds of items typically needed within 60 to 180 minutes. Users can order "everyday essentials like pantry items, cleaning supplies, health and beauty items and over-the-counter medications."

The new delivery options also cover some fun, but perhaps not essential, items like electronics, toys and clothing. Hey, a Nintendo Switch 2 to play Pokopia could be considered essential to many.

Amazon

These high-octane delivery methods don't come cheap, even for Prime members. One-hour deliveries cost $10 and three-hour deliveries cost $5. Customers without a Prime membership pay $20 for one-hour deliveries and $10 for three-hour deliveries. The same-day delivery option remains free for Prime members.

This isn't Amazon's first foray into ultra-quick delivery windows. The company has been experimenting with this kind of thing for years. It started a program called Amazon Now in the 2010s that handled that sort of thing, which eventually changed to Prime Now. It was sunsetted in 2021.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apps/amazon-launches-one--and-three-hour-delivery-options-in-the-us-151536118.html?src=rss

You can sum up the gamer response to NVIDIA's DLSS 5 announcement with the ever-relevant Fallout 4 meme: "Everyone disliked that." Across social media and Reddit last night, I couldn't find anyone who's genuinely positive about the potential for DLSS 5, which uses AI to add "photorealistic" lighting and materials to in-game models and environments. Instead, it's mostly complaints about the feature being another avenue for AI slop. And you know what? I agree.

It's not unusual to see gamers being reflexively angry about new technology on the internet, especially when it's being pitched by NVIDIA as the “biggest breakthrough in computer graphics” since its RTX 20-series GPUs arrived in 2018 with real-time ray tracing. There was plenty of suspicion around DLSS's original AI upscaling model, as well as the "fake" frames generated by later iterations. But the few demos we've seen of DLSS 5 basically look like "yassified" AI filters for popular games.

Leon and Grace from Resident Evil: Requiem have more distinct facial and hair detail, but they look a bit too slick. There are more wrinkles on an old woman in Hogwarts Legacy. And the face, hair and clothing from a Starfield character gain an uncanny sheen.

None of the demos have the immediate impact of the Star Wars real-time ray tracing short ILMxLab produced with NVIDIA seven years ago. That demonstration showed us glorious reflections and lighting effects we'd never seen before in real-time. The DLSS 5 demos, on the other hand, don't look much different from the AI filters that make you look more presentable for Zoom calls. There's no genuine excitement for DLSS 5, just NVIDIA telling us that it's groundbreaking.

There's also plenty of concern about DLSS 5 straying from an artist's original intent, as well as a potential homogenization of game visuals if every developer starts using the feature. NVIDIA claims developers will have "detailed controls for intensity, color grading and masking," which will help DLSS 5 stay in line with a game's aesthetic. But we don't have any direct developer experience with the feature yet — some artists may want far more control than NVIDIA wants to give.

The difference between DLSS 5 and earlier versions NVIDIA's upscaling is like the difference between generative AI and more traditional machine learning models. NVIDIA relied on the latter to make low-resolution textures and models appear sharper, and later to insert generated frames to smooth out gameplay and raise your fps count. As Wirecutter and former Polygon editor Arthur Gies points out, you could argue those features were in service of delivering what developers originally intended. But DLSS 5's neural model applies its concept of "photorealism" on top of what games are rendering -- it's like watching a Pixar movie that let OpenAI's Sora do a final visual pass.

Part of the negative response towards DLSS 5 may stem from a widespread anti-gen AI sentiment, but that doesn’t devalue the criticisms either. Similar to AI generated text, images and video, there’s a dehumanizing aspect about DLSS 5. It can erase the work of human artists (despite how much control NVIDIA claims they have), and it also feels like a calculated attempt to appeal to gamers who just want shinier graphics. NVIDIA showed off how generative AI could be used to create dialog and voices for NPCs last year at CES, but that was also widely disliked (and I called it a genuine nightmare).

Of course, I can’t fully judge DLSS 5 until I see it in action beyond a short demo. But I think the visceral disgust is an important indicator that many gamers aren’t onboard with the AI-powered future NVIDIA is trying to sell us. And perhaps the idea of chasing “photorealism” may be a bit of a fool’s errand. It may be appropriate for some games, but as Nintendo and indie PC devs have shown, you can also make some of the best games of all time without striving for realism. Tears of the Kingdom could use a better framerate and higher resolution textures, but it certainly doesn’t need DLSS 5.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/gamers-are-right-to-be-disgusted-by-nvidias-dlss-5-151105593.html?src=rss

Sony is rolling out a firmware update for its PlayStation Portal handheld that introduces a new quality option for both Remote Play and Cloud Streaming. Choosing the 1080p High Quality mode means that you’ll be able to stream games at a higher bitrate compared with the 1080p Standard option. 

You can switch to this mode by going to Quick Menu > Max Resolution and picking 1080p High Quality while you’re playing a game. You’ll need to restart your game session for the change to take effect. Naturally, 1080p High Quality will use more data than the other resolution options.

Sony says that more than half of all Portal users are now PlayStation Plus Premium subscribers, meaning they can use the Cloud Streaming option on the device. With that in mind, the company is making some Cloud Streaming changes as part of this firmware update. 

The company says it has refined the search screen — from now on, whenever you open this up, the on screen keyboard will pop up immediately. That’s a nice little quality-of-life update that streamlines things a bit. When you pick the “stream" option on pages for game bundles (i.e. for any title that includes multiple games), you’ll be able to select a specific game to jump into. 

Sony Interactive Entertainment

There are notification changes too. If you receive a game invite while playing a supported title, you’ll now see a clear notification on your screen. Trophy notifications should now display properly too, with the trophy name and image showing up. Unlocking a platinum trophy will cause an animated notification to appear. 

There’s one more tweak to the system with this Portal update as Sony attempts to make the onboarding experience a bit smoother. Those who pick up a Portal but don’t already have a PlayStation account will be able to create one and then sign in on the handheld by scanning a QR code on their mobile device. Such folks will still need to have access to a PS5 or sign up for PS Plus Premium to actually get any use out of the Portal, of course.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/a-playstation-portal-update-is-adding-a-1080p-high-quality-mode-142216189.html?src=rss

Apple and Nike are at it again. But this time, their collaboration doesn't involve Apple Watch bands or a shoe-tracking iPod. Instead, the companies are launching a new color option for Beats' fitness-focused earphones. Meet the Powerbeats Pro 2 - Nike Special Edition.

"This isn't just a new colorway," Beats CMI Chris Thorne wrote in a press release. "It's a collision of two brands that define performance, culture and sports — the attributes of today's athlete."

Okay, cool, but marketing-speak aside, this is, in fact, just a new colorway. However, depending on your taste, it might be one you're into. Nike's "Volt" palette takes center stage, with its love-it-or-hate-it electric yellow-green motif. The two companies share logo duties, with the Beats "b" on the left bud and Nike's swoosh on the right. Meanwhile, the charging case takes you to Speckle City, looking like something Jackson Pollock flung a can of leftover shoe paint onto.

Apple / Nike

Otherwise, these are the same Powerbeats Pro 2 earphones that launched last year. You get heart-rate tracking, decent ANC and Spatial Audio. You can revisit Billy Steele's review for more details on the earphones.

To help move the product, Beats and Nike called upon an athlete they both sponsor: a little-known hooper named LeBron James. The Lakers vet stars in a new ad, where he uses the Nike Powerbeats to tune out the noise with a little help from Lionel Ritchie.

You can watch the commercial below — and order the new colorway from Apple’s and Nike's respective websites on March 20. The Nike Special Edition Powerbeats Pro costs the same $250 as the standard version. However, this is a limited-edition variant, so there's no guarantee it will be around for long.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/audio/headphones/apple-and-nike-team-up-for-a-new-powerbeats-pro-2-colorway-140000882.html?src=rss