Category: Technology

Meta Connect 2024 will take place on September 25 and 26 and “explore the future of AI and mixed reality,” the company announced on X. Last year, Meta used the event to launch its latest Quest 3 headset, Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses and more. 

This year may be even busier. In April, Meta teased a limited-edition Xbox-inspired Quest headset and announced that it was rebranding Quest OS to Meta Horizon OS. It also opened up the OS to third parties and said that both Lenovo and ASUS were working on AR devices. Meta could also reveal a more affordable “Quest 3S” headset, according to a recent store listing leak. 

On a dedicated page, Meta offered a signup portal “for a sneak peak at this year’s speakers, sessions and featured technology.” As before, the keynote is likely to feature Mark Zuckerberg outlining his vision for Meta over the next year. This could be telling as the company appears to be shifting its focus from mixed reality to AI, despite having “metaverse” right there in the name.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-connect-2024-will-take-place-on-september-25-and-26-132041893.html?src=rss 

Microsoft is laying off employees working on mixed reality as part of a restructuring of the division, CNBC has reported. The company will continue to sell the HoloLens 2 augmented reality (AR) headset, a key device produced by that department. 

“Earlier today we announced a restructuring of the Microsoft’s Mixed Reality organization,” a spokesperson told CNBC in an email. “We remain fully committed to the Department of Defense’s IVAS program and will continue to deliver cutting edge technology to support our soldiers. In addition, we will continue to invest in W365 to reach the broader Mixed Reality hardware ecosystem. We will continue to sell HoloLens 2 while supporting existing HoloLens 2 customers and partners.”

The US Department of Defense is a major customer for the HoloLens, employing the AR devices to improve battlefield awareness. The company recently deployed a modified version called the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) designed to reduce nausea, eye strain and other issues. 

A mixed reality department reorganization seemed inevitable after Microsoft deprecated Windows Mixed Reality in Windows 11 back in December 2023. At the time, Microsoft said the move would have no impact on its HoloLens division.

The changes are part of a broader restructuring that saw the company let 1,000 employees go in multiple divisions yesterday. The company laid off nearly 2,000 employees from its gaming unit in January 2024, and over 10,000 last year.  

Microsoft’s move is part of an industry-wide shift away from the metaverse and toward artificial intelligence (AI), a path also taken by one of AR’s biggest boosters, Meta. CEO Mark Zuckerberg said last year that development of AI is now the company’s “single largest investment.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/microsoft-announces-layoffs-and-restructuring-in-its-mixed-reality-division-120042170.html?src=rss 

Amazon has announced its latest series coming to Prime Video, and gamers might recognize it. The streamer is releasing Like A Dragon: Yakuza, a live-action adaptation of the Yakuza SEGA game series. The Japanese Original show will premiere worldwide in two batches of three episodes on October 25 and November 1, 2024.

SEGA launched Yakuza in 2005, with over 20 other titles and spinoffs joining it in the years since. Amazon bills Like A Dragon: Yakuza as a “crime-suspense-action series, follows the life, childhood friends, and repercussions of the decisions of Kazuma Kiryu, a fearsome and peerless Yakuza warrior with a strong sense of justice, duty, and humanity.” The show takes place during 1995 and 2005 in Kamurochō, a fictional entertainment district modeled off Kabukichō, the game’s setting.

There will be similar themes between the show and the game, of course, but it seems creators are attempting to give it a unique identity. “While the games let you experience their world through the subjective lens, this adaptation will be the ultimately objective way to enjoy the show,” Yokoyama Masayoshi, Yakuza writer, head of Ryugagotoku Studio and executive producer. “I have no doubt that fans of the series will be drawn to how it brings the games to life and adds new surprises. Newcomers, I’m sure will find themselves invested simply in the gritty realism of the show.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/amazon-primes-yakuza-adaptation-launches-october-25-123028936.html?src=rss 

If you’ve been thinking of buying Apple’s HomePod (2nd generation), now’s the time to act — it’s on sale right now at Verizon for $175. That’s a significant $125 discount (42 percent off) and represents one of the best deals we’ve seen on the smart speaker to date. In addition, Verizon is currently offering a deal on the HomePod Mini, letting you get a pair for $150, or 25 percent off.

With sound that’s clearer and richer than offerings from Amazon and Google, the second-gen HomePod garnered a solid 84 score in our review last year. However, it’s really only aimed at Apple users, working best with iPhones, Apple TVs and other devices from the company, along with services like Apple Music.  

As a smart home device, it’s compatible with Matter and Thread on top of Apple’s own HomeKit protocol, so you can use it to control a growing range of security cameras, thermostats, plugs and other smart home accessories. It also has built-in temperature and humidity sensors, and its included mics do well to pick out your voice through noise.

Speakers like the Sonos Five and Sonos Era 300 cost more but offer a bit better sound, while the Sonos Era 100 is normally a bit better value (Google Assistant and Amazon Echo users should look elsewhere). In addition, there’s no Bluetooth audio and Siri isn’t the most capable assistant At $175, however, the second-gen HomePod is a solid deal if you’ve been eyeing one.

If you don’t need the sound quality of the HomePod, the HomePod Mini is also on sale at Verizon in a “buy one, get the second one half off” deal (two for $150, basically). That will get you a stereo pair or let you stock a couple of bedrooms. It comes with nearly all the same smart home features if that’s your main concern, while offering superior sound quality to the Echo Dot and Google Home Mini.

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/the-second-gen-homepod-is-on-sale-for-175-right-now-074144267.html?src=rss 

Another Ubisoft studio is pitching in to help develop Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake. Ubisoft Toronto has announced on X/Twitter that it’s joining the company’s Montreal division to work on the game. In 2022, Ubisoft Montreal took over the project from Ubisoft Pune and Mumbai after several days from its target release date of as far back as January 2021. The company said back then that Montreal was “building upon the work achieved” by its studios in India. In an interview last year, though, producer Jean-Francois Naud revealed that the project was still “in conception” and that it’s “looking at feedback from the community and finding [its] own way of delivering the game.”

Ubisoft Montreal was “the very birthplace of the epic Sands of Time trilogy,” the company wrote in its message when the studio took the reins. The original Sands of Times was itself a reboot of the original Prince of Persia series of PC games by Jordan Mechner. Montreal was also the studio behind a number of Splinter Cell series and Rainbow Six series titles, as well as most Assassin’s Creed games. Meanwhile, Toronto developed Far Cry 5 and 6 and Watch Dogs: Legion. It’s also currently working on the Splinter Cell remake that’s being rebuilt from the ground up using the company’s own Snowdrop engine.

The Sands of Time Remake has no new release date yet. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ubisoft-toronto-is-helping-out-with-the-troubled-prince-of-persia-the-sands-of-time-remake-050059045.html?src=rss 

New York is poised to pass a law that will bar social media platforms from showing algorithmic feeds to teens without parental consent. The Wall Street Journal reports that lawmakers in the state have reached a “tentative agreement” on a bill that will be voted on later this week.

State officials, including Governor Kathy Hochul, introduced a bill requiring parental consent for algorithmic feeds last year. The Stop Addictive Feeds Exploitation (SAFE) for Kids Act doesn’t restrict the type of content teens can view on social media apps, but they wouldn’t be able to view algorithmic feeds without permission from their parents or guardians. The latest version of the bill will also block teens from seeing in-app notifications overnight without parental consent, according to The Wall Street Journal.

If passed into law, New York would become the latest state to attempt to rein in social media platforms’ access to teens with age verification requirements. Utah passed a law last year requiring social media apps to get parental consent, though the measure was later scaled back. Lawmakers in California have also proposed limiting teens’ access to algorithmic feeds.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-york-is-about-to-give-parents-more-control-over-their-kids-social-media-feeds-230205845.html?src=rss 

Instagram ads may soon be much harder to ignore. As TechCrunch reports, Meta is testing a new type of non-skippable ad in the Instagram feed, which the company is calling an “ad break.”

With the new ads, which have already been spotted by some users, you can’t scroll past the feed ad until the”ad break” finishes. According to screenshots shared on Reddit and X, it appears that the “breaks” are a few seconds long, though it’s not clear if the length could change should Meta decide to make the new format official. “Ad breaks are a new way of seeing ads on Instagram,” an in-app message states. “Sometimes you may need to view an ad before you can keep browsing.”

While non-skippable video ads are common on other platforms, like YouTube, it’s a new and much more aggressive format for Instagram. It’s also notable that the company is experimenting with the ads in its main feed rather than in Reels or Stories, where video ads are more common (but for now still skippable).

Meta didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment, but the company confirmed to TechCrunch that it was testing the new ad format. “As we test and learn, we will provide updates should this test result in any formal product changes,” a Meta spokesperson said.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/meta-is-testing-a-new-ad-in-the-instagram-feed-that-you-cant-scroll-past-195201532.html?src=rss