Category: Technology

Sony’s 2025 PlayStation Wrap-Up is now available. The recap, which is similar to those from music streaming services, sums up gaming habits from throughout the year. It shows players how many hours they used their PS4 or PS5, what games they played the most, preferred genres, trophy counts and more.

These digital cards are shareable on social media, which is kind of the whole point. Nothing says “bragging rights” more than offering definitive proof of how long you spent on a couch grinding in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 or wandering the wasteland in Death Stranding 2.

This year, the recap provides insight into how much players interacted with accessories like the PlayStation Portal and PS VR2. It also details the “most used DualSense wireless controller design.”

The 2025 Wrap-Up will be available until January 8. Once completed, players also get a “unique glass-themed avatar.” It’s only available for adults.

The PlayStation Wrap-Up has been around since 2017, though it ran into some issues with accessibility in 2024. Spotify introduced the basic idea with Wrapped back in 2015. Since then, the concept of a shareable year-end streaming list has spread like a virus. Just about everyone does it now, from Apple Music to Nintendo and even YouTube. We love to reflect on things we recently experienced, don’t we folks?

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/playstations-2025-wrap-up-is-here-so-you-can-see-how-many-hours-youve-sunk-into-death-stranding-2-191508693.html?src=rss 

Owners of the Porsche Macan and upcoming Porsche Cayenne Electric will be able to unlock and start their cars with their Galaxy phones, Samsung has announced. The cars, alongside other Porsche models, are gaining support for Samsung Wallet’s Digital Key feature, which lets users wirelessly control their car over a secure UWB or NFC connection.

Digital Key support will be available in Europe in December, before rolling out globally, “aligned with the launch timeline of Porsche vehicles,” Samsung says. Samsung Wallet is available on Samsung devices as old as the Galaxy S20, Note 20, Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Galaxy Flip 5G, and is included on the majority of the company’s new phones. Like similar features on Google’s Pixels and Apple’s iPhones, Digital Key allows Porsche owners with a supported Galaxy phone to unlock, lock and start their car directly from their phone. If your phone is ever taken, you can also remotely lock or delete a Digital Key to keep your car safe.

Samsung added Digital Key support to select Volvo and Polestar EVs in February 2025. The feature first became available in 2021, and is one of several ways the phone maker imagines people will use Samsung Wallet. Beyond digital car keys, the app can also store credit and debit cards and be used to transfer money with a tap.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/smartphones/samsung-wallet-to-gain-support-for-digital-porsche-keys-193000085.html?src=rss 

You can add the Switch 2 to the (long) list of platforms where you can play The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The bad news: It costs $60 to play the 2011 game optimized for Nintendo’s 2025 hardware. The good news: It costs less (or nothing) if you own one of the versions for the original Switch.

The (digital-only) Switch 2 port is the Anniversary Edition of Skyrim, released in 2021. That includes the base game and three expansions (Dawnguard, Dragonborn and Hearthfire). You’ll also find hundreds of Creation Club items, like quests, weapons, armor, spells and dungeons. The Anniversary Edition’s Zelda crossover content (Master Sword, Hylian Shield and Champion’s Tunic) is also there. So, at least there’s plenty of content.

The game also offers technical upgrades for the Switch 2 hardware. It has enhanced resolution, DLSS anti-aliasing, faster load times and general performance optimizations. There’s also mouse support, motion controls and Amiibo support. The trailer below gives you an idea of what to expect.

In an interview with Nintendo Life, Bethesda Creative Director Matt Carofano said the Switch 2 port was “an easy development process and actually pretty quick” to make. He described the team’s motivation for porting it as bringing back “one of our most beloved games to the Switch 2 and see how we can improve it and make it the best experience for that console.”

Okay, cool, but I’m gonna go on a limb and say money was also a factor. That’s because, if you don’t already own Skyrim for the OG Switch, you’ll have to fork over a whopping $60 in the Nintendo Store for the 14-year-old game. Meanwhile, if you own the standard version of Skyrim for the original Switch, you’ll pay $20 to upgrade. Finally, if you have the Skyrim Anniversary Edition on the OG Switch, you can install the new version for free.

If you own the Switch 1 version, first install that on Switch 2 and start the game. When you see the eShop banner advertising the new version, press Y to access the store and upgrade. You can do that with both digital and physical versions of Skyrim for Switch 1.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/skyrim-arrives-on-the-switch-2-175200223.html?src=rss 

Somewhere along its never-ending quest to increase engagement, Meta realized that giving Facebook users more of what they want would make it more likely that they’ll stick around. The company has announced a bunch of updates designed to help improve the feed and the broader Facebook experience by making it easier to find, create and share interesting things. (Because primarily showing updates from your friends with the occasional ad or meme post is maybe just too complicated.)

Simplification is a big focus of this overhaul. First, the Facebook feed will be a bit more streamlined. Whenever you post multiple photos, Facebook will arrange them into a standardized grid. When you click into anything on the feed, you’ll be able to see it in a full screen view. And there’s a very welcome change in that you’ll be able to like a photo by double-tapping it. Just be careful with that when you’re swiping through an ex’s or a crush’s photos.

Simplified Facebook feed.

Search results are now said to “show more content in a more immersive grid layout that supports all content types,” according to Meta. The company is trying out a new full-screen viewer for Facebook that “lets you explore different photo and video results without losing your place in search,” which it plans to expand to “more content and post types in the coming months.”

In addition, the company says you’ll be able to provide feedback on a Facebook post or Reel to help make future recommendations more relevant. More ways for you to “shape your feed” and offer feedback on what the algorithm serves up are coming soon.

The Facebook feed sucks, and it’s good that Meta knows it sucks. There have been numerous occasions over the last couple of years where I’ve had to scroll through a couple dozen uninteresting posts from pages and creators I’ve never heard of before seeing something from a friend. The glut of spam and AI slop isn’t helping (things are pretty grim for creators who have been dealing with content thieves too).

There was a spell of several months last year when, every single time I opened Facebook, I would see an utterly garbage AI-generated image of a “tiny house,” a supposedly cozy domicile where not much actually made sense (three TVs in a living room, stairs and railings that had the telltale signs of AI warping). I’d always provide feedback that I didn’t want to see any posts from that page again. But the next day there’d be another rotten “tiny house” image from a different page in my feed.

Here’s hoping Meta will actually take feedback related to recommendations on board and act on it. If the company does, it might actually make the feed more interesting to scroll through again.

Elsewhere, Facebook will place the most-used tab bar features — such as Reels, Friends, Marketplace and Profile — front and center on the tab bar for easier and faster access. Meta is also promising a refreshed look for the menu and “cleaner” tab notifications.

Facebook Story creation screen

Facebook is making it easier to access more popular Story and Feed post creation tools like music and friend tagging by giving them more prominent placement. Advanced options like text background colors will be an extra tap or two away. The post and Story composer feature audience and cross-post settings prominently, so that you have ease of control over who can see what you’re sharing. Meta has updated how comments work across the feed, Groups and Reels as well to make things more streamlined and easier to follow. 

On top of all of that, when you make changes to your profile, you might start seeing suggestions for friends with shared interests. Meta suggested that, “if you update your profile to show you’re into sourdough bread baking or planning a trip to Nashville, Facebook will show you friends who can give you sourdough starter tips or offer suggestions on the best local spots.” As always, though, you can decide who sees what on your profile or simply opt to share none of this personal info with Facebook at all, especially if you feel that Meta already knows too much about you.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-is-trying-to-make-facebook-suck-less-by-simplifying-things-a-bit-171910771.html?src=rss 

Pebble just announced the Index 01, a smart ring for recording thoughts. It’s a little ring with a built-in microphone and that’s about it. The Index 01 is almost anti-tech in its simplicity. There’s no needless AI component shoehorned in, aside from speech-to-text. It’s a ring with a microphone that you whisper ideas into and I want one.

Here’s how it works. You get an idea while walking down the street, so you quietly whisper it into the ring. The ring sends the idea to a notes app or saves it for later review. Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky calls this an “external memory” for the brain, but I call it a nice way to avoid having to dig the phone out of a pocket or bag just to utter something like “pizza, but for cats.”

The ring doesn’t record unless a button is pushed, so it won’t be listening in on private conversations, and it doesn’t require a paid subscription of any kind. It’s on the smaller side, about the size of a wedding band, and is water-resistant.

The battery also lasts for “years” and never needs to be charged. The ring is designed to be worn at all times, so users develop the muscle memory of holding down the little button when they have something to share. See what I mean? I want one, and I’ve quite literally never worn a ring in my life.

Migicovsky says this is an open source product and that Pebble is “leaving the side door open for folks to customize.” He envisions people will integrate AI voice agents and that the ring will eventually work with stuff like ChatGPT, Beeper, Google and other services.

The Pebble Index 01 works with iPhone and Android and is available for preorder right now. It costs $75 during this preorder period, but the price jacks up to $99 when shipments start going out in March.

This is just the latest product by Migicovsky and Pebble. The company unveiled the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2 smartwatches earlier this year.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/pebble-is-making-a-weird-little-smart-ring-for-recording-thoughts-161723645.html?src=rss 

Congrats to any budding Nostradamus out there who peered into the future to boldly predict that Amazon would bring more shopping features to Alexa+ sooner rather than later. A gold star for you. Yes, it hasn’t taken too long for Amazon to weave more features into the generative AI-powered version of Alexa that are designed to get you to buy more stuff.

Shopping features were part of the original Alexa from the jump, of course, but Amazon is doing some interesting things with the latest iteration. For instance, the company is rolling out a new price tracking feature. Tell it the product you want and how much you’re willing to pay for it. As soon as the item goes on sale for below that price, Alexa+ will automatically order it for you using your default payment method and delivery address. This deal tracking feature also keeps an eye on items in your cart and wishlists. Maybe remember to turn this off when you’re going out of town for a while, though.

Another feature that Alexa+ users can start trying today is a Shopping Essentials tool on Echo Show 15 and 21. You’ll be able to see real-time tracking for your orders, your recent orders, household essentials that it may be time to reorder, saved items and your shopping list. Tap the screen and you can find out more info about products, add them to your cart and complete your purchase. You’ll soon be able to add a shopping widget to your Echo Show home screen, but for now you can check this out by saying “Open Shopping Essentials” or “Alexa, where’s my stuff?”

Elsewhere, Alexa+ can offer personalized product recommendations after you share details about a special occasion or a person you’re buying for. That could be handy if you haven’t completed your gift shopping yet. There’s also an option to add extra items onto a current order until just before it leaves an Amazon warehouse. Alexa+ might make some suggestions here, such as asking if you need batteries for a new gadget or toy.

Amazon was always going to be interested in tapping into Alexa+ to prompt you to buy more goods from the company, but some of these features are pretty interesting, especially for deal hawks and those who order items frequently. It makes even more sense now as to why Amazon is trying to prevent third-party AI agents (such as the one in Perplexity’s Comet browser) from carrying out purchases on the platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/amazon-is-rolling-out-new-shopping-features-for-alexa-because-of-course-it-is-150000355.html?src=rss