Technology - Kalakshar US

GM to end production of its Chevy Brightdrop electric vans

GM is ending production of the Chevy Brightdrop electric van, according to portions of a transcript of a recent earnings report published by The Verge. The decision was made due to slowing demand in the EV market, as hundreds of Brightdrop vans have begun piling up in dealer lots.

“This is not a decision we made lightly because of the impact on our employees,” CEO Mary Barra said in the earnings call. “However the commercial electric van market has been developing much slower than expected, and changes to the regulatory framework and fleet incentives has made the business even more challenging.”

Those changes to the regulatory framework she mentions likely refer to the recent disappearance of the federal EV tax credit. The policy offered prospective buyers a $7,500 tax credit and was supposed to wind down in 2032, but the Trump administration killed it back in September as part of the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill. Brightdrop vans were also eligible for a $7,500 rebate for commercial EVs under 18,000 lbs, which went away along with the tax credit.

In other words, Brightdrop electric vans are simply too expensive for most consumers. They started at $74,000. The double discount brought the starting price down to $59,000, but that’s gone now. Additionally, rival Ford’s E-Transit van starts at $51,600.

GM first launched the Brightdrop vans back in 2021, and this seemed to be a serious attempt to capture the commercial EV market. The company made its own fleet management software and inked deals with Walmart, FedEx and others. Money is money, however, and not too many commercial customers have an extra $15,000 laying around to make up for those lapsed credits and rebates.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/gm-to-end-production-of-its-chevy-brightdrop-electric-vans-183622673.html?src=rss

This Baseus magnetic power bank is cheaper than ever at only $36

If you’re on the go a lot, a power bank is practically a backpack essential, and while a chunkier device is sometimes necessary for power users, if you just need something to juice up your phone you can easily stay within the realms of pocketability. Baseus’ Picogo 5K belongs to the latter category, and right now you can pick one up for $36, which is a record low price.

While this particular accessory only made it into the “others we tested” section in our guide to the best MagSafe power banks for iPhone, that’s only because it was slightly beaten in the slimness department by the Anker Nano. However, as we noted in the guide, the Nano doesn’t have a stand, and the Picogo 5K does, so if you like to be able to prop up your phone while it’s charging, it might be the better pick for you.

As you can probably guess from its name, Baseus’ power bank has a 5,000mAh capacity and is Qi2-certified. In our testing. It gave our tester iPhone 15 a 43 percent bump in battery in 42 minutes, which returned the phone to 91 percent. It has a curved design and is wrapped in soft silicone, making it easy to grip in a pinch.

As a reminder, MagSafe charging is supported on iPhone 12 models and later, though you’ll need an iPhone 13 or later to reach the 15W charging speed on a third-party Qi2 accessory such as the one featured in this deal.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/this-baseus-magnetic-power-bank-is-cheaper-than-ever-at-only-36-164814402.html?src=rss

Aura just announced an incredibly thin color e-ink photo frame

Aura just announced the Ink, a 13-inch color e-ink photo frame. The company says it’s the “thinnest e-paper frame available” that is “designed to join a gallery wall or stand alone.” Aura isn’t kidding here. This thing is just 0.6-inches thick.

One of the primary pain points of traditional digital photo frames is that many require constant power via an outlet. This creates an aesthetic problem, as one has to figure out a place to tuck away a power cord. Some modern frames operate via battery, but they don’t last all that long.

The Aura Ink, however, features a rechargeable battery that powers the device for three full months. That’s a really good metric and is likely due to the decreased power demands of e-ink.

There’s another problem that Aura looks to have solved here. Color e-paper has a limited palette with access to just six different hues. That’s just the nature of the technology. This doesn’t always make for the most pristine images.

The company is getting around this limitation via a proprietary dithering algorithm that “expands the appearance of the display’s six-color ink system into millions of tones, creating the illusion of full-color photographs.” I haven’t gotten a look at this frame in real life, but the marketing images look gorgeous.

Aura

There’s also an integrated front light that highlights photos. The company says this light has been designed to boost contract and automatically adjusts to ambient conditions. It also shuts off at night because the opposite would be kind of creepy.

The Aura Ink ships with a wall-mount and a tabletop stand. Now onto the bad news. This is high-end technology with a high-end price tag. The frame costs $500. Aura is a reputable company, however, as its Carver Mat model topped our list of the best digital picture frames.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/aura-just-announced-an-incredibly-thin-color-e-ink-photo-frame-163734237.html?src=rss

Apple MacBook Pro M5 14-inch review: A huge graphics upgrade for creators and gamers

There was no massive event announcing the M5 MacBook Pro, not even a short promotional video for social media. Instead, Apple dumped all of its new M5 devices on us with a few press releases, a clear sign that there’s not much to celebrate this year. But while the new 14-inch MacBook Pro appears to be more of the same on the surface, it also features an impressive graphics upgrade that makes it a decent choice for gaming. And it retains everything I already love about the MacBook Pros: It’s still a well-designed machine that’s sturdy, fast and offers tons of battery life.

What’s new in the M5 MacBook Pro

The star of the show is Apple’s new M5 chip, which sports a 10-core CPU, 10-core GPU and 16 Neural Engine cores. While the company claims it’s 20 percent faster than the M4 for multi-threaded applications, the biggest upgrade is the GPU, which is up to 60 percent faster when it comes to games and professional apps. The M4 was no slouch when it came to gaming and media rendering, but the M5 is a more tempting upgrade for anyone using an M1 MacBook Pro or older.

Otherwise, it’s like I said: more of the same. There’s the 14.2-inch Liquid Retina XDR display which offers up to 1,000 nits of full-screen brightness and 1,600 nits of HDR, as well as ProMotion’s smooth 120Hz refresh rate. (Unfortunately, we’ll likely have to wait until next year for an OLED option.) The aluminum case is still rock solid, and the excellent keyboard and trackpad haven’t changed a bit. Last year’s 12MP Center Stage webcam also makes a return, along with the superb six-speaker sound system.

The port situation is also solid. On top of the MagSafe 3 charging connection, there are three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a full-sized SDXC card reader, HDMI and a headphone jack. (It would be nice to see a gigabit Ethernet port though. That’s the one accessory I still regularly connect to almost every laptop.)

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

In use: The best gets even better

Before I get to the benchmarks and other performance metrics, it’s worth pointing out just how pleasant the 14-inch MacBook is to use. Its aluminum frame is smooth to the touch, its screen is bright enough to use in direct sunlight and it always feels blazing fast. While its 3.4-pound frame is noticeably heavier than the 2.7-pound MacBook Air, it’s still easy to travel with. And you can certainly tell that the additional weight translates into raw power, especially as you start to stress the MacBook Pro and hear its fans gently spin up. While the MacBook Air is built to be as thin as possible, the MacBook Pro is built to get work done (and look good while doing so).

Based on my testing with popular benchmarks and a few games, the M5 MacBook Pro is noticeably faster than the M4 model in tasks that rely on the GPU and NPU. Otherwise, though, it’s hard to tell a difference when it comes to basic tasks like booting into macOS, browsing the web and dealing with email. My review unit was equipped with 32GB of RAM, so it had a bit more breathing room than the base model with 16GB of memory. (Pro tip: If you’re planning to keep the MacBook Pro for four years or more, it makes sense to get at least 32GB of RAM. You can’t upgrade the memory down the line like older laptops, since it’s baked directly into the M5 chip.)

Computer

Geekbench 6

Geekbench 6 GPU

Cinebench 2024

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M5, 2025)

4,310/18,003

48,840

197/1,034 | GPU: 6,143

Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4, 2024)

3,797/14,571

37,869

172/979 GPU: 3,770

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M4 Pro, 2024)

3,925/22,456

70,197

178/1,689 GPU 9,295

Apple MacBook Pro 16-inch (M3 Max, 2024)

3,202/21,312

92,344

143/1,686 GPU 13,182

In Geekbench 6, the M5 MacBook Pro was around 500 points faster than the M4 model in single-threaded tasks, and nearly 3,500 points faster for complex multi-threaded work like video rendering. Thanks to the M5’s new graphics hardware, it also tested far better in the Geekbench 6 GPU test, reaching around 11,00 points faster than the M4. I noticed a similar result in Cinebench 2024: The M5 MacBook Pro’s CPU scores were slightly better than before, but the GPU score was nearly twice as fast as the M4.

For real-world gaming performance, I turned to Lies of P, which also surprised me with some major leaps. With the M4 MacBook Pro, I could only get a steady 60 fps with the highest graphics settings in 1080p. With this M5 model, I was able to play at the highest resolution (3024 by 1890) between 70 and 75 fps. It was even smoother as I scaled down the resolution: The MacBook Pro hit 85 to 95 fps in 1,440p and up to 140 fps in 1080p. Those results are in line with what I’d expect from a gaming notebook that costs well over $2,000, which is in line with the $2,200 retail cost of our review unit.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

I still wouldn’t recommend a MacBook Pro for anyone who wants to play tons of games, but it’s heartening to see Apple making progress on that front. There are more new AAA games hitting the app store, and the M-series chips are fast enough to run most of them well. But the M5 is the first time I’d consider Apple’s hardware equivalent to a PC running a video card like NVIDIA’s RTX 5070.

The M5 MacBook Pro retains the impressive battery life from the previous model, reaching 34 hours and 30 minutes while looping an HD video. I could also use it for more than two full days of work with nothing much stressing the GPU. And once again, the MacBook Pro never feels very hot, even under an intensive workload. The fans are audible, but they don’t get as annoying as the helicopter-like fans from the old Intel MacBook Pros.

Devindra Hardawar for Engadget

Should you buy the M5 MacBook Pro?

If you’re looking for a powerful laptop that can handle most heavy-duty workloads, the MacBook Pro will certainly suit your needs. But the difficult choice now is deciding between this 14-inch M5 model, the existing M4 Pro and Max systems, or waiting a few months for the upcoming M5 Pro and M5 Max chips. If you’re rendering video and 3D content all day, you’re likely better off working with Pro and Max chips, but you’ll have to wait several months to see the new M5 options. If you absolutely need a workhorse MacBook Pro today, you’ll have to settle for the M4 Pro and M4 Max (which are still far faster than the base M5 chip). But for most creatives, the M5 MacBook Pro offers an impressive balance of power and portability.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/apple-macbook-pro-m5-14-inch-review-a-huge-graphics-upgrade-for-creators-and-gamers-170009179.html?src=rss

OpenAI’s ChatGPT browser arrives today on macOS

OpenAI’s long-rumored browser has a name, and you can try it out today — provided you’re an Apple user. ChatGPT Atlas is available to download on macOS, with the company promising to bring it to Windows, Android and iOS soon. Atlas integrates ChatGPT directly within the browser interface, allowing users to engage with the chatbot while they’re surfing the web — no need to jump between different tabs and copy and paste content. When you select a text field, an icon will appear that allows you to prompt ChatGPT. OpenAI demoed this feature in Gmail where an employee asked the chatbot to polish an email he was writing to a colleague. Naturally, a prompt bar will also appear when you open a new tab, and you can open a sidebar where you can converse with ChatGPT at any time.

The more you use Atlas, the more ChatGPT will “remember” about your preferences. One of the benefits of this is that you’ll be able to more easily filter through your search history. For instance, you can write “re-open shoes I looked at yesterday,” and ChatGPT will know the specific website you want to look at again. Browser memories are optional, and if you decide to enable the feature, you can manage them through the settings menu, and just like any other browser, you can delete your history or go surf the web using an incognito mode. OpenAI says it won’t use the content users browse to train its future models.

Atlas also includes an agent mode where ChatGPT can surf the web for you and complete tasks. The feature builds on the Operator tech debuted at the start of the year, and is currently available as a preview within the browser that Plus, Pro and Business accounts can try out. “It can help you book reservations or flights or even just edit a document that you’re working on,” said Adam Fry, product lead for ChatGPT Search, during the livestream where OpenAI announced Atlas.

“Tabs are great but we haven’t seen a lot of browser innovation since then,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman at the start of the livestream. “This is just a great browser all-around — it’s smooth, it’s quick, it’s really nice to use.”

Developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/openais-chatgpt-browser-arrives-today-on-macos-170735087.html?src=rss

Google Fi will start using AI to make calls sound better

Google just announced several updates for its digital telecom provider, Google Fi. It’s introducing AI-enhanced audio for better sound quality during calls. The company says this will ensure “optimized audio quality for every call, so you can confidently take calls from a windy park or busy cafe.” This feature rolls out sometime in November.

Google Fi is getting HD/HD+ calling, which should also improve the overall audio quality. The service will soon automatically connect to Wi-Fi when available, with the company touting “seamless, secure switching.” As for security, each call and text goes through a VPN. There’s no extra cost for this service and it doesn’t count against the pre-existing data allocation.

The platform will also soon let users make calls and send texts from any web browser. This is coming in December and will feature a new interface with full RCS support, allowing folks to add hi-res photos and videos to message threads.

Finally, Google is integrating Gemini into the platform to create an AI-powered billing summary. The company says this offers “simple, easy explanations of all your billing statements.” The feature has been in a beta for a while and Google says users have given it “high positive sentiment.”

These tools are accompanied by a limited-time promo for new subscribers, amounting to 50 percent off for 15 months when bringing in a phone. The discount is only available for the Unlimited Premium and Unlimited Standard plans.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/google-fi-will-start-using-ai-to-make-calls-sound-better-170025805.html?src=rss

HBO Max is getting even more expensive starting today

Yet another streaming platform is asking people to dig deeper into their wallets and pay more to keep using the service. Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has jacked up the prices of all HBO Max plans, 16 months after the last increase to the ad-free offerings.

The entry-level, ad-supported plan is now $11 per month (an extra $1) or $110 per year ($10 more). HBO Max Standard will run you an extra $1.50 per month at $18.49 or $15 per year at $185 for the annual plan. As for the HBO Max Premium option, subscribers will now have to pay $23 per month (up by $2) or $230 for an annual plan (an increase of $20).

The new prices kick in immediately for newcomers. Existing monthly subscribers will start paying more as of November 20 (whenever their next billing cycle starts on or after that date). Yearly subscribers will be notified about the price changes 30 days before their plan renews.

WBD CEO David Zaslav suggested in September that price increases were on the way, along with a stricter crackdown on password sharing. “The fact that this is quality — and that’s true across our company, motion picture, TV production and streaming quality — we all think that gives us a chance to raise prices,” Zaslav said. “We think we’re way underpriced.”

The company announced the price increases on the same day that Disney is making several Disney+ plans more expensive. As it happens, some of the Disney+ bundles that are going up in price include HBO Max.

News of the price hikes comes just as WBD sticks a For Sale sign out on its lawn. It was reported this month that the company turned down an acquisition offer from Paramount Skydance for being too low. WBD has now confirmed that “multiple parties” have expressed interest in buying some or all of the company, and that it’s now conducting “a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value.”

In June, WBD announced plans to split into two companies. As things stand, Warner Bros. will retain the namesake film, TV and game studios, as well as New Line Cinema, DC Studios, HBO and HBO Max. Discovery Global will have all of the other live cable channels, such as CNN, HGTV, Cartoon Network, Discovery and TLC (it will also be saddled with the lion’s share of WBD’s debt). That split is slated to take place by mid-2026, but WBD said on Tuesday it would consider other options.

“The Warner Bros. Discovery Board will evaluate a broad range of strategic options, which will include continuing to advance the company’s planned separation to completion by mid-2026, a transaction for the entire company or separate transactions for its Warner Bros. and/or Discovery Global businesses,” WBD said in a press release. “As part of the review, the company will also consider an alternative separation structure that would enable a merger of Warner Bros. and spin-off of Discovery Global to our shareholders.”

WBD hasn’t set a deadline or timetable for completing this review. But given the whole HBO Max naming debacle, it might take the board quite a while to make its mind up.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/entertainment/streaming/hbo-max-is-getting-even-more-expensive-starting-today-143939446.html?src=rss

New report leaks Amazon’s proposed mass-automation plans

Amazon is reportedly moving towards an era of unprecedented automation that would put half a million jobs in the US at risk. According to a series of interviews and internal documents referenced in an extensive report from The New York Times, Amazon executives expect to sell twice as many products by 2033. But by scaling up its robotics operations believe it could avoid the 600,000 hires it would otherwise have to make to keep up with the demand.

According to the report, documents show that the ultimate aim of Amazon’s in-house robotics department is to automate 75 percent of all operations, and if it is successful in making 160,000 fewer hires by 2027, the company would reportedly save 30 cents on each item it packs and delivers to customers in the US. Amazon recently celebrated deploying its 1 millionth robot, a fleet it has been adding to since unveiling its first fully autonomous mobile robot in 2022.

Despite already pushing ahead with building warehouses that employ few humans, the NYT report claims that Amazon is planning for the eventual impact on affected communities and the potential backlash by participating in local events to establish a reputation as a “good corporate citizen.” The internal documents also discuss the avoidance of terms such as “automation” and “AI” in relation to robotics, suggesting instead that executives use terms like “advanced technology” instead. They even consider replacing using “cobot” instead of “robot” as the former implies a collaborative relationship with humans.

In a statement to the NYT, Amazon called the plans it cited incomplete and not reflective of its overall hiring strategy. It denied that its community efforts were related to its automation plans and said it’s not insisting that its executives refrain from using certain terms. The company added that it planned to hire 250,000 people for the imminent holiday season, but wouldn’t say how many of these would be permanent hires.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/new-report-leaks-amazons-proposed-mass-automation-plans-144822790.html?src=rss

There’s another Kirby Air Riders Direct livestream on October 23 at 9AM ET

Nintendo has another livestream planned for the upcoming Switch 2 exclusive Kirby Air Riders. This one takes place on October 23 at 9AM ET. That’s less than a month before the game will be available for purchase.

The company also says the stream will be a full hour, which is a heck of a long time to spend on just one game a few weeks before launch. It’s worth noting, however, that Kirby Air Riders is a Masahiro Sakurai title.

Join us on Oct. 23 at 6 a.m. PT for a second #KirbyAirRiders Direct with director Mr. Sakurai. The livestreamed presentation will last roughly 60 minutes and feature more info on the upcoming #NintendoSwitch2 game.

Watch here: https://t.co/MS7fAYcd3R pic.twitter.com/nkPcQDYQd5

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) October 21, 2025

This is the guy that made the Super Smash Bros. franchise. He loves making long videos about minutiae in his games. Just about every character on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate roster got a fairly substantial reveal video and he has made all kinds of content about the various mechanics on that game.

To that end, the previous Kirby Air Riders livestream from August was 45 minutes long and included a fairly deep dive into game mechanics. We don’t know what this stream will spotlight but we can’t wait to find out.

For the uninitiated, Kirby Air Riders is a Switch 2 exclusive that stars the lovable and eternally-hungry puffball Kirby. It’s a racing game and a follow-up to the Gamecube original, Kirby Air Ride. It’ll be available on November 20.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/theres-another-kirby-air-riders-direct-livestream-on-october-23-at-9am-et-150344862.html?src=rss

One of our favorite Anker 5K power banks is on sale for less than $20

Portable chargers are great and all but, between a hefty weight and a tangle of cords, many are more of an annoyance than anything else. Anker’s Nano Power Bank has served as the solution to all that for me, with a charger built-in to a device that’s barely bigger than a lipstick.

Now our choice for best portable charger for Android is even more tempting, thanks to a 36 percent markdown. The Anker Nano Power Bank is down to $19 from $30 in the USB-C model. The discount is available in the classic Black or White and the more fun colors Ice Lake Blue, Lilac Purple and Sprout Green.

You can use Anker’s Nano Power Bank with devices such as the iPhone 15 and newer, Samsung S22 and S23 series, AirPods and the iPad Pro or Air. It’s good for a quick boost: we found that its 5,000mAh battery can charge a depleted Galaxy S23 Ultra to 65 percent in about an hour. It also has four indcator lights on it that show how much it’s charged.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/one-of-our-favorite-anker-5k-power-banks-is-on-sale-for-less-than-20-145408130.html?src=rss